Quantifying the transmission advantage associated with N501Y substitution of SARS-CoV-2 in the UK: an early data-driven analysis

Abstract

The emerging N501Y mutation in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which becomes prevalent in the UK rapidly, is one of the major challenges of COVID-19 control. To explore the transmission advantage, we estimate that the N501Y substitution increases the infectivity by 52% (95% confidence interval: 46, 58) in terms of the reproduction number.