Fauci Says COVID-19 Mu Variant 'Not Matter of Alarm' in US at Present

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The coronavirus Mu variant is not a matter of alarm in the United States at present, Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to the US president, said during a COVID-19 Response Team press briefing on Friday.

"The reason [the Mu variant] was brought to attention, was that it had a number of mutations that were of interest, but when you look at the effect of antibodies against these mutations, it is not a matter of alarm, in that although it diminishes somewhat the protection, it falls well within the range of Delta and Beta", Fauci said.

Fauci said that about 0.5 percent of COVID-19 isolates in the United States are of the Mu variant, and the Delta variant continues to be the dominant strain among new cases. By contrast, the Mu variant in Colombia has accounted for about 72 percent of cases in the last 60 days.

Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on federal government coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response in Washington

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Fauci reiterated that the Delta variant remains of the primary concern, having increased the share of new cases in the United States from 13.5 percent in June to about 98.9 percent now.

The currently unnamed C.1.2 variant, which originated in South Africa in May, has yet to be seen in the United States, he added. Nine countries have detected the C.1.2. so far and In South Africa, it has come to comprise about 2 percent of cases in the past 60 days.