Alpha variant mutations help SARS-CoV-2 overcome evolutionary weaknesses The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to spread globally, infecting over 182 million people. In the process of dividing and replicating, errors in SARS-CoV-2's genetic makeup cause it to mutate. Virus mutations can affect its transmissibility and infectiousness. Some may help the virus evade the immune system, possibly making vaccines less effective, while others have little influence. Researchers at the University of Cambridge, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, The Pirbright Institute, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and Vir Biotechnology aimed to determine how SARS-CoV-2 evades the immune system, threatening the efficacy of developed vaccines.