TLDR: The underlying mutational rate of SARS-CoV-2 may be substantially higher than previous estimates which were based on assaying the rate at which RNA change

TLDR: The underlying mutational rate of SARS-CoV-2 may be substantially higher than previous estimates which were based on assaying the rate at which RNA changes appear in the population. > In SARS-CoV-2 we find evidence for common intra-host purifying selection against nonsense, missense and synonymous mutations, such that the true underlying mutation rate is about 50% higher than would be estimated if one assumes that the mutation rate is the rate of appearance of mutations in the circulating population. This has implications for methods to determine mutation rates, for determining times to common ancestry and the potential for vaccine escape.