SARS-CoV-2 20I/501Y.V1 variant in the hamster model

Late 2020, SARS-CoV-2 20I/501Y.V1 variant from lineage B.1.1.7 emerged in United Kingdom and gradually replaced the D614G strains initially involved in the global spread of the pandemic. In this study, we used a Syrian hamster model to compare a clinical strain of 20I/501Y.V1 variant with an ancestral D614G strain. The 20I/501Y.V1 variant succeeded to infect animals and to induce a pathology that mimics COVID-19. However, both strains induced replicated to almost the same level and induced a comparable disease and immune response. A slight fitness advantage was noted for the D614G strain during competition and transmission experiments. These data do not corroborate the current epidemiological situation observed in humans nor recent reports that showed a more rapid replication of the 20I/501Y.V1 variant in human reconstituted bronchial epithelium.