Enjay, I believe Brazil is likely simply being

Enjay,

I believe Brazil is likely simply being ravaged by the huge numbers of omicron (report yesterday that R0 is 2.1) and a significant unvaccinated population, especially outside of São Paulo.

This article (which I have not seen reported elsewhere) notes that 2 mutations, S704L and F642l with A701V, increased from 0 to 4% and 0 to 17% representation over 2 weeks.

That means that 96% and 93% percent respectively of the the roughly 4 million cases over that period did not contain these spike protein mutations.

I believe these are just incidental findings. As discussed previously, mutations happen frequently, most have little or no impact. I believe that is likely the case here. The BA.2 lineage if more concerning (keep watching Denmark and neighboring Germany), as BA.2 is reportedly 45% more contagious and has 20 mutations differentiating it from BA.1. It may, though not yet demonstrated, have some degree of evasion from BA.1 induced immunity.