SARS-CoV-2 Zeta variant
Zeta variant, also known as lineage P.2, is a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first detected in the state of Rio de Janeiro; it harbors the E484K mutation, but not the N501Y and K417T mutations. It evolved independently in Rio de Janeiro without being directly related to the Gamma variant from Manaus.
Under the simplified naming scheme proposed by the World Health Organization, P.2 was labeled "Zeta variant", and was considered a variant of interest, but not a variant of concern. A second wave was preceded in November 2020 by an increase in the prevalence of the Zeta variant among genetic sequences from São Paulo state, deposited into the GISAID database. As of July 2021, Zeta is no longer considered a variant of interest by the WHO.