COVID-19 Mu Variant More Transmissible, Worse Than Delta Variant?

New COVID-19 variants have raised concerns all over the world and the latest one in focus is the Mu variant. It has already been detected in 49 US states but the disturbing part is that it is more transmissible and potentially something that may resist current vaccines being administered.

Scientists fear that the Mu variant could be more transmissible and it is something already detected in all US states except for Nebraska. Florida and California have reported 384 cases while Los Angeles County reportedly has 167.

The Mu variant was identified in Colombia in January. It has since spread to over 41 countries including the United States. But the worst fear of most is that the strain is allegedly vaccine-resistant. It was found to be more transmissible and vaccine-resistant by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Aug. 30.

Despite these findings by WHO, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has yet to share and give their analysis on the COVID Mu variant.

“This is what makes getting vaccinated and layering protections so important. These are actions that break the chain of transmission and limits COVID-19 proliferation that allows for the virus to mutate into something that could be more dangerous,” Barbara Ferrer, Director of LA County Public Health, stated in a report from NBC Los Angeles.

But despite these claims, Dr. Anthony Fauci bats that he does not see the Mu variant becoming the next dominant COVID strain.

“Even though it has not in essence taken hold to any extent here we always pay attention to at all times variants,” he said in a report from the Insider. “We don't consider it an immediate threat right now.”

Regardless, Fauci says they are keeping a close eye on the Mu variant despite not considering it as an immediate threat. The Delta variant remains the dominant and deadly variant in the US according to Fauci during a Sept. 2 news briefing.

The 80-year-old also added that the MU variant is a constellation of mutations that suggest that it would evade certain antibodies. This is not only on monoclonal antibodies but vaccine and convalescent serum-induced antibodies.