M1237I Mutation in Taiwan SARS-CoV-2: Hypothesis and Possible Treatments

Mutation in M1237I has been present in 20 patients of COVID-19 infection with alpha variants of SARS-CoV-2 in Taiwan (May 13 to June 24, 2021; GISAID website). It has been shown that D614G and M1237I together caused the decrease of sensitivity to convalescent sera, suggesting that M1237I mutation may increase viral virulence. M1237I may change palmitoylation of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.