23A (XBB.1.5) is now available on CoVariants! It's visible as part of Per Country & Per Variant plots, on the shared mutation page - and of course, has a page of its own.
As I covered earlier, 23A (XBB.1.5) is descended from the recombinant 22F (XBB) variant, with some additional mutations. You can read more about how it evolved & acquired those mutations below ππ».
On the 23A page, you can read about some initial 23A (XBB.1.5) work on neutralizing titres, see a list of defining mutations, a plot of the variant growth, link to Aquaria protein viz, & see a list of other mutations present in the variant.
On the Per Country page, 23A (XBB.1.5) is already clearly visible in the USA, Canada, UK & Israel, & is starting to appear in smaller numbers in other countries, like Germany & Singapore. Remember, sequencing data is always a few weeks behind.
Finally, on the Shared Mutations page, you can see how 23A's / XBB.1.5's Spike mutations compare to other VoC, including its Omicron family and 22F (XBB) parent.
More information on 23A (XBB.1.5) & its spread will become available in due course.
As always, CoVariants.org is open-source & we welcome your PRs & suggestions to add more studies & information to variant pages! (Or any error-catching!)
As before, I've created a file for 23A (XBB.1.5) mapping all defining mutations (relative to ancestral), including nuc->AA. This is available on the CoVaritants Github!
The recombinant XBB is shown as having mutation S:F486S (inc on CoVariants.org), from parent BM.1.1.1 - but looking at BM.1.1.1* now, it seems to have mostly S:486P!
So did XBB really get 486S?
Looking at "Mutations over time", we can see really nicely that BM.1.1.1* was mostly S:486S earlier, then 486P later - likely a daughter lineage outgrowing 'original' BM.1.1.1!
2/5
Indeed, daughter lineage CJ.1 has 100% S:486P and has been growing since Oct 22, when we see that switch. cov-spectrum.org/explore/World/β¦
Similarly, looking at BM.1.1.1 (no star - so no descendants), show it has 96% S:486S & declined in Oct. cov-spectrum.org/explore/World/β¦
3/5
Wonderful to be back in #Wengen last night for the @ISPMBern#SwissEpiWinterSchool - to talk about Wengen! Specifically, the Alpha #SARSCoV2 outbreak in Dec 20 - Feb 21 - bringing together 3 different data sources! Alongside @nicolamlow Chris Kosok @JulRiou! 1/4
Thanks to tireless work of many, the #Wengen outbreak was swiftly identified & action was taken. Chris' field observations, cantonal teams of contact tracers, & of course testers & sequencers, mean we're able to bring together sequences, contacts, & observations for analysis! 2/4
The ability to overlay these three types of connections (an example shown below) means we are able to see how multiple layers can contribute to our understanding of the outbreak, & compare the strengths & shortcomings of different approaches! 3/4
Well, after almost 3 years of a dizzy dodging dance - #SARSCoV2 finally got me last week. π¦ π€ Happy to say I'm on the road to recovery now! π£οΈ
It seems many of us 'hold outs' have been caught out in the last few weeks - be safe out there this Xmas!
1/5
I've generally been quite careful, but with the resumption of in-person meetings (& all the activities that go along, like dinners & aperos!), there was always a risk - one I accepted knowingly. I think online working is great TBH, but in-person really is different.
2/5
To pre-empt some comments I know I'll get, I'm being open about getting #COVID19 because being open is something I've always tried to do! We're all trying to make the best decisions for ourselves, our risk levels, our health, & our lifestyles in a complex world.
3/5
In spring 2020, I crafted myself 5 rules for how I would engage on Twitter. Generally, I think they've worked well for me:
1. Tweet with intent ποΈ 2. Stay positive π 3. Engage in good faith π«±πΏβπ«²π» 4. You don't owe anyone a response ππ»ββοΈ 5. Never feed the trolls π§
1/9
First, a disclaimer: These are the rules I try to follow. But I'm not perfect - I've broken them; I've made mistakes.
But in general, I've stuck to them. I do think they've allowed me to have a better social media experience in the last 3 years than many, & I'm grateful.
2/9
1. Tweet with intent ποΈ
I try to not to tweet reactively or randomly. Doesn't mean everything has to be science, but does mean I try to ask, "why am I tweeting this? what am I trying to accomplish?" This keeps me more focused in what I choose to share.
3/9
22F (XBB) is now available on CoVariants! It's visible as part of Per Country & Per Variant plots, on the shared mutation page - and of course, has a page of its own.
As I tweeted earlier, 22F (XBB) is a recombinant variant - the first officially elevated using the Nextstrain clade designations. You can read more about what that means in the thread below!
I got verified when the option arose, to try to make it harder for others to impersonate me & spread pandemic misinformation under the guise of being me. That's all.
I think for that purpose, it's really useful. But I won't pay for it.
1/5
As others have said, I put a lot of work into my tweet threads - sometimes hours. That's time that is already taken away from my 'real' work. Though I consider it privilege to be able to do this public service work, I won't pay to do it.
I have no plans to stop tweeting for now. Though it will be a lot less rewarding if nobody gets to see those tweets. If that seems to be the case, I will probably stop, because I'm not doing this for myself. I love the connections I make on twitter!