On Nov. 26, 2021, the World Health Organization announced that the Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) was convened to assess the SARS-CoV-2 variant: B.1.1.529.

The B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to WHO from South Africa on 24 November 2021. The first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on November 9, 2021.

This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs.