First identified in South Africa, the Beta variant shows ~50% increased transmission and significantly reduced susceptibility to the combination of bamlanivimab and etesevimab monoclonal antibody treatment, though other EUA monoclonal antibody treatments are available. Beta also displays reduced neutralization by convalescent and post-vaccination sera.
The CDC has identified four "variants of concern," which are variants whose mutations significantly alter the virus’s ability to infect cells, enhance viral transmissibility, or cause more severe illness. These include alpha, beta, gamma, and delta.