A new strain of COVID-19 has been discovered by the World Health Organization. The “Mu variant” may be able to outfox the current COVID vaccines, according to the WHO.
The Mu variant (B.1.621) broke through in Colombia back in January, and since then has made its way to 38 other countries, including the U.S. The new variant has also seen consistent growth despite an overall decrease in all COVID cases worldwide.
While the WHO is still studying the variant, the organization says there may be mutations present in Mu that shield it from the effects of the existing COVID vaccines.
Despite this, the Mu variant has yet to be named a “variant of interest” by the WHO or by the CDC here in the United States because it seems to be less contagious than Delta, but research is ongoing.
