Dr. Anthony Fauci says the United States is “watching very closely” the Mu variant of COVID-19, but “it’s not an immediate threat.”
- Fauci was asked about the strain at a White House briefing on COVID-19 after it was added to the World Health Organization’s list of “variants of interest” on Monday.
- The Mu variant, also known as B.1.621, “has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential immune leakage properties,” according to the WHO
- “Yes, we are certainly aware of the Mu variant.” We are watching it a lot, ‘Fauci said on Thursday
- He said the Mu variant “is not even about to be dominant,” as the Delta variant maintains 99% dominance among coronavirus infections.
- Fauci added that vaccines are still “quite effective” against COVID-19 variants
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday that the United States is “watching very closely” the Mu variant of COVID-19, but “it is not an immediate threat.”
Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, was asked about the tension at a White House briefing on COVID-19 after he was added to the Organization’s list of “variants of interest” on Monday. World Health.
The Mu variant, also known as B.1.621, “has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential immune leakage properties,” according to the weekly pandemic bulletin published by the WHO.
“Yes, we are certainly aware of the Mu variant.” We are watching it a lot, ‘Fauci said on Thursday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday that the United States is “closely monitoring” the Mu variant of COVID-19, but “it is not an immediate threat.”
He added that the Mu variant “is not even about to be dominant,” as the Delta variant maintains its 99% dominance among coronavirus infections.
“While, in essence, it hasn’t been taken this far in any way, we always pay attention to the variants (at all times),” Fauci said.
“This variant has a constellation of mutations that suggest it would evade certain antibodies, not just monoclonal antibodies, but vaccine and convalescent-induced serum antibodies,” Fauci said.
But there is not much clinical data to suggest this. This is mainly in vitro laboratory data. Not to downplay it, we take it very seriously.
Fauci added that vaccines are still “quite effective” against COVID-19 variants.
“In short, we are paying attention to it, we take it seriously, but we don’t consider it an immediate threat now,” Fauci said.
During the press conference, Fauci also said it is “likely” that Americans will need to get a third dose of vaccine to be considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Fauci said the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make a final determination.
The United States is preparing for the promoters of all Americans who received Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines five to eight months after their second dose, pending FDA approval.
A map shows the total number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in the United States since the start of the pandemic
A graph shows the number of coronavirus deaths in the United States each day since the onset of the pandemic
A graph shows the number of coronavirus deaths in the United States each day in August and September
A graph shows the number of coronavirus infections in the United States each day since the start of the pandemic
A graph shows the number of coronavirus infections in the United States each day in August and September
A map shows the percentage of people in each state vaccinated so far
The United States is still studying whether a single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine booster dose will be needed.
A formal determination of the third dose for “complete vaccination” would have far-reaching implications for schools, businesses, and other entities with established vaccine mandates amid COVID-19 rises caused by the Delta variant.
The impacts of the newly defined Mu variant could further affect the need to obtain reinforcement features and mandates to achieve them.
The Mu variant was first identified in Colombia in January 2021 and has since spread to 39 countries around the world, with at least 4,500 cases linked to the variant on August 29, according to the WHO.
The WHO noted that the prevalence of cases of Mu variants has increased in Colombia to 39% and in Ecuador to 13%.
According to the WHO, just under 4.4 million new cases of COVID-19 and just over 67,000 new deaths worldwide were recorded during the week of August 23-29.
The total number of cases worldwide since the start of the pandemic has reached 216 million and the total number of deaths is just under 4.5 million.