SARS-CoV-2 variants of public health interest: 20 May 2022
Updated 21 April 2023
© Crown copyright 2023
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sars-cov-2-variants-of-public-health-interest/sars-cov-2-variants-of-public-health-interest-20-may-2022
Position as of 16 May 2022.
Horizon scan
| International epidemiology scan | 16 May 2022 |
| Lineage and signals growth rates scan | 16 May 2022 |
| Phylogenetic cluster detection | 16 May 2022 |
| International mutation scan | 16 May 2022 |
| Domestic mutation scan | 16 May 2022 |
| Signals investigated from 4 May to 16 May 2022 | 5 |
| New genomes 4 May to 16 May 2022 | 22,963 |
Note: signals of individual mutations and new clusters are excluded until defined variant is identified.
SARS-CoV-2 variants of public health interest: variants detected in the UK
UKHSA-designated variants of concern
| Omicron (VOC-21NOV-01/B.1.1.529/BA.1 and all sub-lineages, unless separately designated by UKHSA) |
| Omicron (VOC-22JAN-01/B.1.1.529/BA.2 and all sub-lineages, unless separately designated by UKHSA) |
| Omicron (B.1.1.529) sub-lineage BA.5 (VOC-22APR-04) |
| Omicron (B.1.1.529) sub-lineage BA.4 (VOC-22APR-03) |
UKHSA-designated variants
| XE recombinant (V-22APR-02/BA.1 x BA.2) |
| Delta (V-21APR-02 and all sub-lineages, unless named elsewhere on the grid) |
| Alpha (V-20DEC-01/B.1.1.7) |
| V-21OCT-01 (AY.4.2) |
Signals currently under monitoring and investigation
| BA.3 |
| Delta and Omicron recombinant lineages (UK) |
| XF recombinant |
| BA.1/BA.2 recombinant (with unique mutation C3583T) |
| BA.2.12.1 |
SARS-CoV-2 variants of public health interest: variants present in GISAID but not detected in the UK
International variants of concern
| Beta (V-20DEC-02, B.1.351) |
International variants
| XD Recombinant (V-22APR-01, Delta x BA.1) |
| B.1.525 (previously VUI-21FEB-03) |
International signals under monitoring
| AY.119.2/BA.1.1 Recombinant |
SARS-CoV-2 variants of public health interest: variants which have become provisionally extinct
Variants provisionally extinct (not detected for 12 weeks in the UK or in GISAID)
| P.1 (Gamma) (previously VOC-21JAN-02) |
| A.23.1 with E484K (previously VUI-21FEB-01) |
| Alpha with E484K (previously VOC-21FEB-02) |
| B.1.324.1 with E484K (previously VUI-21MAR-01) |
| AV.1 (previously VUI-21MAY-01) |
| P.3 (previously VUI-21MAR-02) |
| B.1.318 (previously VUI-21FEB-04) |
| P.2 (previously VUI-21JAN-01) |
| B.1.617.1 (previously VUI-21APR-01) |
| A.27 |
| C.36.3 |
| Iota (B.1.526) |
| Mu (V-21JUL-01, B.1.621) |
| V-21APR-03 (B.1.617.3) |
Signals provisionally extinct (not detected for 12 weeks in the UK or in GISAID)
| A.30 |
| B.1.633 |
| AT.1 |
| P.5 |
| R.1 |
| B.1.620 |
| B.1.1.7 + B.1.617.2 (XC Recombinant) |
| B.1.214.2 |
| B.1.619 |
| B.1.640 |
Signals removed after review
Variants under investigation and signals in monitoring may be removed from the grid if they show consistently low growth rates.
| AY.33 |
| AY.34 |
| AY.43 |
| B.1.629 |
| B.1.630 |
| B.1.628 recombinant of (B.1.631 and B.1.634) |
| C.1.2 |
| C.37 (Lambda) (previously VUI-21JUN-01) |
| C.37 (2nd Gen) |
| Epsilon (B.1.427/B.1.429) |
| P.1.8 |
| Variant associated with North America: USA 214insQAS Samples |
| Delta + E484K Phylogenetic Cluster |