sars-cov-2 iota variant sars-cov-2 iota variant iota variant, also known as lineage b.1.526, is one of the variants of sars-cov-2, the virus that causes covid-19. it was first detected in new york city in november 2020. the variant has appeared with two notable mutations: the e484k spike mutation, which may help the virus evade antibodies, and the s477n mutation, which helps the virus bind more tightly to human cells. part of a series on thecovid-19 pandemicscientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of sars-cov-2. each "ball" is an atom. covid-19 (disease) sars-cov-2 (virus) cases deaths timeline 2019 2020 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2021 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2022 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november december 2023 january february march april may locations by country and territory africa antarctica asia europe north america oceania south america by conveyance cruise ships naval ships international response endemic phase evacuations face masks international aid investigations into origin lockdowns by country misinformation by governments fake treatments social distancing software travel united nations world health organization wto ip waiver undercounting of deaths covid-19 apps zero-covid national responses africa china european union germany ghana india ireland netherlands new zealand nigeria philippines russia sweden uk government us federal government vietnam medical response disease testing breathalyzer development drug development drug repurposing public health mitigation vaccines history research vitt deployment authorizations operation warp speed misinformation and hesitancy us vaccine card vaccine passports current vaccines coronavac covaxin convidecia janssen medigen moderna novavax oxford–astrazeneca pfizer–biontech sinopharm bibp sputnik v variants variants of concern alpha beta gamma delta omicron other variants epsilon zeta eta theta iota kappa lambda mu cluster 5 lineage b.1.617 economic impact and recession arts and culture aviation cannabis cinema films disney fashion financial markets food industry food security journalism music performing arts retail shipping television us sportscasting programs tourism video games by country canada india ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us by sport association football baseball basketball combat sports cricket disc golf gaelic games gridiron football ice hockey motorsport rugby league impacts animals black people crime death rates by country disability domestic violence emergency evacuations education female environment hospitals language lgbt community long-term care media coverage mental health symptoms migration military notable deaths other health issues politics diplomacy popular culture protests pregnancy prisons religion catholic church hajj science and technology social media strikes suicides telehealth xenophobia and racism society ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us covid-19 portal by february 2021, it had spread rapidly in the new york region and accounted for about one in four viral sequences. by 11 april 2021, the variant had been detected in at least 48 u.s. states and 18 countries. under the simplified naming scheme proposed by the world health organization, b.1.526 has been labeled iota variant, and is considered a variant of interest (voi), but not yet a variant of concern. mutations the iota (b.1.526) genome contains the following amino-acid mutations, all of which are in the virus's spike protein code: l5f, t95i, d253g, e484k, d614g and a701v. amino acid mutations of sars-cov-2 iota variant plotted on a genome map of sars-cov-2 with a focus on the spike. history the increase of the iota variant was captured by researchers at caltech by scanning for mutations in a database known as gisaid, a global science initiative that has documented over 700,000 genomic sequences of sars-cov-2. the proportion of usa cases represented by the iota variant had declined sharply by the end of july 2021 as the delta variant became dominant. statistics cases by country (updated as of 11 august 2021) gisaid country confirmed cases last reported case usa 45,558 24 june 2021 ecuador 168 10 june 2021 canada 158 spain 119 17 june 2021 colombia 115 24 may 2021 aruba 103 10 june 2021 germany 56 22 june 2021 mexico 50 11 june 2021 united kingdom 43 16 may 2021 sint maarten 17 27 may 2021 ireland 13 7 may 2021 switzerland 12 17 may 2021 chile 11 12 may 2021 denmark 9 31 may 2021 israel 9 26 april 2021 suriname 9 10 may 2021 argentina 8 26 april 2021 belgium 8 18 april 2021 dominican republic 8 10 june 2021 france 8 25 may 2021 lithuania 8 28 may 2021 singapore 7 4 april 2021 australia 6 21 may 2021 italy 6 4 may 2021 luxembourg 6 05 march 2021 costa rica 5 21 may 2021 netherlands 5 19 april 2021 russia 5 4 june 2021 croatia 4 9 february 2021 japan 4 7 may 2021 south korea 4 14 april 2021 sweden 4 14 may 2021 turkey 4 4 may 2021 malta 4 21 december 2020 india 3 24 march 2021 dominica 3 15 january 2021 slovenia 3 18 may 2021 austria 2 22 april 2021 ghana 2 20 march 2021 grenada 2 17 january 2021 indonesia 2 8 january 2021 jamaica 2 2 february 2021 liberia 2 14 may 2021 portugal 2 4 march 2021 romania 2 17 april 2021 anguilla 1 21 april 2021 antigua and barbuda 1 3 may 2021 british virgin islands 1 25 january 2021 cayman islands 1 15 april 2021 china 1 curacao 1 30 april 2021 finland 1 14 march 2021 guadeloupe 1 9 march 2021 new zealand 1 16 march 2021 poland 1 31 march 2021 turks and caicos islands 1 22 march 2021 venezuela 1 8 may 2021 world (57 countries) total: 46,589 total as of 11 august 2021