The most severe forms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) are often associated with the presence of syncytia in the lungs resulting from cell–cell fusion mediated by the SARS‐CoV‐2 spike protein. In this issue, Rajah and colleagues show that the SARS‐CoV‐2 alpha, beta, and delta variants promote enhanced syncytia formation as compared to the original strain.
SARS‐CoV‐2 variants as super cell fusers: cause or consequence of COVID‐19 severity?