Mary Wilson
Well-known member
Published: 30 May 2022
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01836-w
Lorenzo Subissi, Anne von Gottberg, Lipi Thukral, Nathalie Worp, Bas B. Oude Munnink,
Surabhi Rathore, Laith J. Abu-Raddad, Ximena Aguilera, Erik Alm, Brett N. Archer, Homa Attar Cohen, Amal Barakat, Wendy S. Barclay, Jinal N. Bhiman, Leon Caly, Meera Chand, Mark Chen, Ann Cullinane, Tulio de Oliveira, Christian Drosten, Julian Druce, Paul E er, Ihab El Masry, Adama Faye,
Simani Gaseitsiwe, Elodie Ghedin, Rebecca Grant, Bart L. Haagmans, Belinda L. Herring, Shilpa S. Iyer, Zyleen Kassamali, Manish Kakkar, Rebecca J. Kondor, Juliana A. Leite, Yee-Sin Leo, Gabriel M. Leung, Marco Marklewitz, Sikhulile Moyo, Jairo Mendez-Rico, Nada M. Melhem, Vincent Munster,
Karen Nahapetyan, Djin-Ye Oh, Boris I. Pavlin, Thomas P. Peacock, Malik Peiris, Zhibin Peng,
Leo L. M. Poon, Andrew Rambaut, Jilian Sacks, Yinzhong Shen, Marilda M. Siqueira, Sofonias K. Tessema, Erik M. Volz, Volker Thiel, Sylvie van der Werf, Sylvie Briand, Mark D. Perkins, Maria D. Van Kerkhove, Marion P. G. Koopmans and Anurag Agrawal
Global sequencing and surveillance capacity for SARS-CoV-2 must be strengthened and combined with multidisciplinary studies of infectivity, virulence and immune escape, in order to track the unpredictable evolution of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In June 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) SARS-CoV-2 evolution working group was established to track SARS-CoV-2 variants and their specific genetic changes and to monitor viral characteristics and their impact on medical and non-medical countermeasures, including vaccines against COVID-19. In November 2021, this working group transitioned to a formal WHO Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE), with the aim of developing and implementing a global risk-monitoring framework for SARS-CoV-2 variants, based on a multidisciplinary approach that includes in silico, virological, clinical and epidemiological data.
Tracking variants
The main role of the TAG-VE is to function as an integrative forum for the exchange of information from global surveillance and research studies to monitor early warning signals, and to perform timely assessment of the need for public health action in response to emerging variants[SUP]1[/SUP]. It uses a Delphi consensus method to establish which emerging variants are considered variants of interest (VOIs) or variants of concern (VOCs) (definitions, ref. [SUP]2[/SUP]). To avoid stigmatizing countries that first identify and report variants, a naming scheme that follows WHO guidelines[SUP]3[/SUP] and assigns Greek letters to VOIs and VOCs was adopted for global discourse in June 2021 (ref. [SUP]4[/SUP]). As of 26 March 2022, eight VOIs and five VOCs had been designated, and they have been further described as previously or currently circulating variants to reflect changes in their epidemiology over time[SUP]2,5[/SUP]. ...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01836-w
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01836-w
Lorenzo Subissi, Anne von Gottberg, Lipi Thukral, Nathalie Worp, Bas B. Oude Munnink,
Surabhi Rathore, Laith J. Abu-Raddad, Ximena Aguilera, Erik Alm, Brett N. Archer, Homa Attar Cohen, Amal Barakat, Wendy S. Barclay, Jinal N. Bhiman, Leon Caly, Meera Chand, Mark Chen, Ann Cullinane, Tulio de Oliveira, Christian Drosten, Julian Druce, Paul E er, Ihab El Masry, Adama Faye,
Simani Gaseitsiwe, Elodie Ghedin, Rebecca Grant, Bart L. Haagmans, Belinda L. Herring, Shilpa S. Iyer, Zyleen Kassamali, Manish Kakkar, Rebecca J. Kondor, Juliana A. Leite, Yee-Sin Leo, Gabriel M. Leung, Marco Marklewitz, Sikhulile Moyo, Jairo Mendez-Rico, Nada M. Melhem, Vincent Munster,
Karen Nahapetyan, Djin-Ye Oh, Boris I. Pavlin, Thomas P. Peacock, Malik Peiris, Zhibin Peng,
Leo L. M. Poon, Andrew Rambaut, Jilian Sacks, Yinzhong Shen, Marilda M. Siqueira, Sofonias K. Tessema, Erik M. Volz, Volker Thiel, Sylvie van der Werf, Sylvie Briand, Mark D. Perkins, Maria D. Van Kerkhove, Marion P. G. Koopmans and Anurag Agrawal
Global sequencing and surveillance capacity for SARS-CoV-2 must be strengthened and combined with multidisciplinary studies of infectivity, virulence and immune escape, in order to track the unpredictable evolution of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In June 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) SARS-CoV-2 evolution working group was established to track SARS-CoV-2 variants and their specific genetic changes and to monitor viral characteristics and their impact on medical and non-medical countermeasures, including vaccines against COVID-19. In November 2021, this working group transitioned to a formal WHO Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE), with the aim of developing and implementing a global risk-monitoring framework for SARS-CoV-2 variants, based on a multidisciplinary approach that includes in silico, virological, clinical and epidemiological data.
Tracking variants
The main role of the TAG-VE is to function as an integrative forum for the exchange of information from global surveillance and research studies to monitor early warning signals, and to perform timely assessment of the need for public health action in response to emerging variants[SUP]1[/SUP]. It uses a Delphi consensus method to establish which emerging variants are considered variants of interest (VOIs) or variants of concern (VOCs) (definitions, ref. [SUP]2[/SUP]). To avoid stigmatizing countries that first identify and report variants, a naming scheme that follows WHO guidelines[SUP]3[/SUP] and assigns Greek letters to VOIs and VOCs was adopted for global discourse in June 2021 (ref. [SUP]4[/SUP]). As of 26 March 2022, eight VOIs and five VOCs had been designated, and they have been further described as previously or currently circulating variants to reflect changes in their epidemiology over time[SUP]2,5[/SUP]. ...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01836-w