Impact of vaccination on intra-host genetic diversity of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 Gamma lineage

The factors that shape viral genetic variation are consequently essential for understanding the evolution and transmission of SARS-CoV-2, especially in vaccinated individuals where immune response plays a role in the progression and spread of this disease.

This study assessed. In this context, we evaluated the impact of immunity induced by the CoronaVac vaccine (Butantan/Sinovac) on intra-host genetic diversity, analyzing 118 whole-genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 from unvaccinated and vaccinated patients infected with the Gamma variant. Vaccination with CoronaVac favors negative selection at the intra-host level in different genomic regions and prevent greater genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2, which may help reduce the emergence of new mutations, reinforcing the importance of vaccination in reducing virus transmission.