Health officials "keeping a very close eye" on COVID-19 Mu variant
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Thursday that the U.S. is taking the variant, dubbed Mu, "very seriously," but that it hasn't taken an extensive hold in this country.
"We're keeping a very close eye on it. It is really seen here, but it is not at all even close to being dominant," Fauci said. "As you know, the Delta is more than 99% dominant."
Fauci said the Mu variant, technically known as B.1.621, has mutations suggesting "it would evade certain antibodies," potentially including those from vaccines.
"But there isn't a lot of clinical data to suggest that. It is mostly laboratory in vitro data," he added. "...We don't consider it an immediate threat right now."
The World Health Organization designated Mu a "variant of interest" this week, and said more studies need to be done to confirm whether the variant could evade existing antibodies.
...If a variant of ...COVID-19, proves to spread faster, cause more severe illness or lessen the effectiveness of current prevention or treatment options, it gets categorized as a more serious "variant of concern."
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Mu has been detected sporadically since it was first identified in Colombia in January, WHO officials said.
Colombian health official Marcela Mercado told a local radio station on Thursday that Mu was responsible for the country's third wave of coronavirus infections from April to June. She said there were nearly 700 deaths per day during this time, and nearly two-thirds of tests from people who died came back positive for the Mu variant, according to AFP.
