Emergence of the E484K Mutation in SARS-CoV-2 Lineage B.1.1.220 in Upstate New York

Ongoing surveillance detected a SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.220 variant carrying the E484K substitution in four patients from a hospital network in upstate New York. Patients reported no travel history and shared no obvious epidemiological linkage. A search of online databases identified 12 additional B.1.1.220 with E484K, all of which were detected in New York since December 2020. Detailed genomic analyses suggests that the mutation has emerged independently in at least two different B.1.1.220 strains in this region.