Genomic surveillance can provide early insights into new circulating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants. While conducting genomic surveillance (1,663 cases) from December 2020-April 2021 in Arizona, USA, we detected an emergent E484K-harboring variant, B.1.243.1. This finding demonstrates the importance of real-time SARS-CoV-2 surveillance to better inform public health responses.
Keywords: Arizona; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; United States; coronavirus disease; emergent variant; genomic surveillance; respiratory infections; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; viruses; zoonoses.