Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 4, 2025

Author Spotlight: A Pseudotype Virus System for Assessing Omicron Subvariants and Neutralizing Antibodies in SARS-CoV-2 Research
Published on: September 8, 2023
Modelling the interplay of SARS-CoV-2 variants in the United Kingdom
N L Barreiro1, T Govezensky2, C I Ventura3
1Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la Defensa (CITEDEF), 1603, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Abstract:
Many COVID-19 vaccines are proving to be highly effective to prevent severe disease and to diminish infections. Their uneven geographical distribution favors the appearance of new variants of concern, as the highly transmissible Delta variant, affecting particularly non-vaccinated people. It is important to device reliable models to analyze the spread of the different variants. A key factor is to consider the effects of vaccination as well as other measures used to contain the pandemic like social behaviour. The stochastic geographical model presented here, fulfills these requirements. It is based on an extended compartmental model that includes various strains and vaccination strategies, allowing to study the emergence and dynamics of the new COVID-19 variants. The model conveniently separates the parameters related to the disease from the ones related to social behavior and mobility restrictions. We applied the model to the United Kingdom by using available data to fit the recurrence of the currently prevalent variants. Our computer simulations allow to describe the appearance of periodic waves and the features that determine the prevalence of certain variants. They also provide useful predictions to help planning future vaccination boosters. We stress that the model could be applied to any other country of interest.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs
Viral Mutations
Viral Recombination
Mechanistic Models: Compartment Models in Individual and Population Analysis
Steps in Outbreak Investigation
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

