Vaccine Resistant Mu COVID-19 Variant Spreading Across The U.S.
Public health officials are keeping an eye on one of the latest COVID-19 variants spreading around the world.
First identified in January in Colombia, the Mu variant has been detected in 41 countries--including the United States, according to Newsweek. So far, it has been found in every U.S. state except Nebraska.
Health officials say Mu is more transmissible than the Delta variant and has the potential to resist vaccines. However, it currently accounts for a small percentage of cases in the U.S.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Thursday (Sep. 2) that the mu variant is not “even close” to being a dominant strand of the deadly virus. That distinction goes to the Delta variant, which accounts for more than 99 percent of cases.
"Even though it has not in essence taken hold to any extent here we always pay attention to at all times variants," Fauci stated. "We don't consider it an immediate threat right now."
California reported the highest number of Mu variant samples, at 384 cases, with Los Angeles County accounting for 167 cases.
Florida had the second-highest number of samples, at 384. Maine and Connecticut were also among the states with a high number of detected cases.