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TheTheta variant (P.3) was aSARS-CoV-2variant of interest.^[1] It was first identified in thePhilippines on February 18, 2021,^[2] and shortly thereafter detected inJapan on March 12, 2021.^[3]

The variant is distinct from those first discovered in theUnited Kingdom,South Africa, andBrazil, and is thought to pose a similar threat. It is more resistant toneutralizing antibodies, including those gained through vaccination, like how the South African and Brazilian variants appear to be.^[4]

Under the standardized nomenclature system established by theWorld Health Organization (WHO), lineage P.3 has been labeled Theta and was classified as a variant of interest rather than avariant of concern. As of July 2021, Theta is no longer considered a variant of interest by the WHO.^[1]

The Theta variant corresponds toPANGO lineage P.3 (B.1.1.28.3), which stems from B.1.1.28, the same parental lineage asP.1 (Gamma) andP.2 (Zeta).^[5] It also belongs toNextstrain clade 21E andGISAID clade GR/1092K.V1.^[1] On March 17, 2021, it was designated as a variant under investigation (VUI) labeled VUI-21MAR-02 byPublic Health England (PHE).^[6] On March 24, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified it as a variant of interest (VOI) and assigned it the Greek-letter name Theta. Then, on July 6, 2021, it was reclassified as a variant under monitoring (VUM), and again on August 17, 2021, as a previously circulating VOI because it no longer poses a major additional risk to global public health.^[1]

• 
  Amino acid mutations of SARS-CoV-2 Theta variant plotted on a genome map of SARS-CoV-2 with a focus on the spike.^[7]

A total of 14amino acid replacements were observed in all samples (labeled inred below), including sevenspike protein mutations. Among the spike protein mutations, four have been previously associated with lineages of concern (i.e.,E484K,N501Y,D614G, andP681H), while three additional replacements were observed towards theC-terminal region of the protein (i.e., E1092K, H1101Y, and V1176F). A single amino acid replacement at theN-terminus ofORF8 (i.e., K2Q) was also found in all samples. Three other mutations were seen in 32 of the 33 samples (labeled ingreen), including a three-amino acid deletion at the spike protein positions 141 to 143. Lastly, five synonymous mutations (labeled ingray) were also detected in all of the cases.^[8]

On February 18, 2021, theDepartment of Health (Philippines) confirmed the detection of two mutations ofCOVID-19 inCentral Visayas after samples from patients were sent to undergogenome sequencing. The mutations, later named as E484K and N501Y, were detected in 37 out of 50 samples, with both mutations co-occurrent in 29 of these cases. There were no official names for the variants at the time, and the full sequence had yet to be identified.^[2] Japan then detected the variant when a traveler from the Philippines arrived atNarita International Airport inTokyo on March 12, 2021.^[3] The following day, March 13, 2021, the Department of Health of the Philippines confirmed that these mutations constituted a new variant, which was designated as lineage P.3. On the same day, it also confirmed the country's first case oflineage P.1. Although lineages P.1 and P.3 stem from the same B.1.1.28 lineage, the department said that the impact of lineage P.3 on vaccine efficacy and transmissibility is yet to be ascertained.^[10]

On March 17, 2021, theUnited Kingdom confirmed its first two cases,^[11] while on April 30, 2021,Malaysia detected 8 cases of lineage P.3 inSarawak.^[12]

Confirmed cases by country (as of January 24, 2022)

Country	PANGOLIN[13]	outbreak.info[9]	Regeneron[14]	Other sources
Philippines	455	513	516	461[15]
USA	17	20	17
Germany	11	11	11
Malaysia	10	10	10	13[16]
United Kingdom	9	9	9	10[17]
Japan	7	8	8
Netherlands	7	7	7	4[18]
Canada	5	5	5
Australia	3	3	4
Belgium	3	3	3
China[a]	3	14	14
Guam	3	–	3
New Zealand	3	3	3
Norway	3	3	3
Singapore	3	3	3
Angola	2	2	2
South Korea	2	2	2
Sweden	2	2	2
Brazil	1	1	1
Finland	1	1	1
Total	550	620	624	488

• COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
• Variants of SARS-CoV-2:Alpha,Beta,Gamma,Delta,Epsilon,Zeta,Eta,Iota,Kappa,Lambda,Mu,Omicron

• PANGO lineages: New Variant Report - Report on global distribution of lineage P.3
• GISAID sequencing data base – Tracking of COVID-19 variants

• Variants of SARS-CoV-2
• COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages