Abstract
BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which has become a pandemic. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is an enveloped, unsegmented, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the family Coronaviridae. AIM: The objective of this review is to conduct a qualitative analysis of the current updates on epidemiology, evolution, and vaccine variants for SARS-CoV-2. METHOD: The search strategy was done from the database based on the PRISMA criteria for qualitative analysis of this review. Literature on variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, published in English in the last 5 years (2019-2023), were included. From 179 a total of 105 articles were reviewed, searched, and retrieved from the electronic databases PubMed. The search was done using keywords like COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, variants, mutations, and vaccines, and articles were managed using EndNote X8 software. The scope of view for this review was the course of the pandemic by emerging variants and how man is struggling to overcome this sudden pandemic through vaccines. The narrative skeleton was constructed based on the article's scope of view. RESULT: From the parent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, many variants emerged during the course of this pandemic. They are mainly categorized into two variants: variants of interest and variants of concern based on the impact on public health. The World Health Organization leveled five variants: Alpha (strain B.1.1.7), Beta (strain B.1.351), Gamma (strain P.1), Delta (strain B.1.617.2), and Omicron (B.1.1.529). CONCLUSIONS: It is crucial to stay informed about the latest developments in the understanding of SARS-CoV-2 variants, as new variants can emerge and impact the course of the pandemic. Health authorities and researchers continuously have to monitor and study these variants to assess their characteristics, transmissibility, severity, and the effectiveness of vaccines against them. One has to always refer to the latest information from reputable health journals or organizations for the most up-to-date and accurate details on COVID-19 variants.