Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant global impact, with more than 280,000,000 people infected and 5,400,000 deaths. The use of personal protective equipment and the anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination campaigns have reduced infection and death rates worldwide. However, a recent increase in infection rates has been observed associated with the appearance of SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the more recently described lineage B.1.617.2 (Delta variant) and lineage B.1.1.529/BA.1 (Omicron variant). These new variants put the effectiveness of international vaccination at risk, with the appearance of new outbreaks of COVID-19 throughout the world. This emergence of new variants has been due to multiple predisposing factors, including molecular characteristics of the virus, geographic and environmental conditions, and the impact of social determinants of health that favor the genetic diversification of SARS-CoV-2. We present a literature review on the most recent information available on the emergence of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 in the world. We analyzed the biological, geographical, and sociocultural factors that favor the development of these variants. Finally, we evaluate the surveillance strategies for the early detection of new variants and prevent their distribution outside these regions.
Highlights
The pandemic due to the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has had a significant impact worldwide, with more than 280,000,000 infected worldwide and more than 5,400,000 deaths by 31 December 2021 [1]
In the United States, in Chicago, it has been reported that inequity, social vulnerability, and socioeconomic risk factors in African American groups negatively associated with an increased COVID-19 mortality [122]
Some authors argue that the response and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic may be hampered in many American communities by deficiencies or disruptions in social capital caused by physical distancing [131]
Summary
The pandemic due to the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has had a significant impact worldwide, with more than 280,000,000 infected worldwide and more than 5,400,000 deaths by 31 December 2021 [1]. Since December 2020, variants of the original SARS-CoV2 have been identified, which have a significant public health impact, with changes the disease transmissibility and have potential risk to decrease the efficacy of the methods of prevention of contagion especially the efficacy of vaccines [4,5,6]. These variants have been described in multiple regions, many of them have developed in developing countries. We will discuss the measures that national and international organizations develop to prevent the emergence and spread of these variants
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