4 things to know about the new mu variant of covid-19

Anna Durbin, M.D., director of the Center for Immunization Research and a professor in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health, says, “We

saw the same effect with the delta variant early on.” Even still, the vaccines have held a strong defense against the strain. A recent CDC report found that during delta’s summer surge, the

COVID-19 vaccines were overall 86 percent effective in preventing hospitalization from a coronavirus infection. In some people, they were as much as 95 percent effective. “The question

that’s still unanswered” when it comes to mu, however, “is how much have these [mutations] drifted and what’s the practical impact on immunity and risk of severe infection,” O’Horo says. 3.

IT’S TOO EARLY TO KNOW IF MU IS THE NEXT DELTA Mu may be the dominant variant in Colombia, but Fauci has said it’s “not at all even close to being dominant,” in the U.S. And “there are a lot

of factors that would have to happen for that to be the case,” Durbin adds. “These viruses are sort of in a fight to the finish. The fittest virus is the one that survives,” she says.

Delta’s features made it superior to alpha, which was the top variant in the U.S. before delta’s rise. “Whether or not the mu variant could compete with delta, we just don’t know.” Given

what we understand so far, however, Durbin is “confident” that if mu does start to spread more in the U.S., the vaccines will continue to hold the line. “But we have to wait and see; we’re

getting new data every day,” she says. “What I say today could be different tomorrow — I do want to have that caveat out there — but for today, I’m confident that the vaccines would induce

high protection against even mu.” 4. VACCINES CAN HELP KEEP OTHER VARIANTS FROM POPPING UP   The more the virus spreads, the more opportunities it has to change. And it may be that one day,

a new variant pops up with the ability to evade the current tools we have to fight it. The vaccines, however, help to halt the spread of the virus, thereby hindering its ability to mutate —

so do masks and other layers of prevention, such as keeping a safe distance from others and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated indoor settings.    “The most important thing we can do to

protect against any variant, be it delta, mu, or C.1.2 [another emerging variant], is to get vaccinated,” Fauci said. TRACKING THE CORONAVIRUS VARIANTS The World Health Organization

(WHO) has been tracking variants of the virus throughout the pandemic and names them after letters of the Greek alphabet. Here are the current “variants of concern” and “variants of

interest,” according to WHO: VARIANTS OF CONCERN * Alpha, origin in U.K. * Beta, origin in South Africa * Gamma, origin in Brazil * Delta, origin in India VARIANTS OF INTEREST * Eta, origin

in multiple countries * Iota, origin in U.S. * Kappa, origin in India * Lambda, origin in Peru * Mu, origin in Colombia _Source: World Health Organization_