ACE2 and infection: Based on the dGbind calculation results presented in Figure 5, and assuming a positive correlation between RBD-ACE2 affinity and virion transmissivity/infection, we may extrapolate higher transmission rates (relative to the wild-type) for variants possessing one or more of the following mutations: N501F, N501H, N501M, N501Y, E484Q, E484R or K417R, all of which exhibited gains in ACE2 binding affinity, i.e., negative dGbind values.