Transmission of mutated SARS-CoV-2 variants is favored by relatively prolonged infections due to delayed immunity
Katherine L. Owens, Pierce E. Radecki, Stefano Tempia, Anne von Gottberg, Cheryl Cohen, Eli Boritz, Joshua Tisdell Schiffer, Daniel B. Reeves
The paper models how delayed immune responses and prolonged infections increase the transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 variants with fitness-enhancing mutations.
bioRxiv · Sep 18, 2026 · PreprintEvolutionary Biology