COVID-19: What you need to know about the Mu variant

 Here's the news no one wanted to hear: The WHO (World Health Organization) is now monitoring the emergence of a new variant of COVID-19, called Mu.

What does this variant mean and what does it mean? We take stock.

Here's the news no one wanted to hear: The WHO (World Health Organization) is now monitoring the emergence of a new variant of COVID-19, called Mu.

What does this variant mean and what does it mean? We take stock.

Why "Mu"?

Variant names are given names from the Greek alphabet. Since the appearance of the original strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the end of 2019, we have for example seen the appearance of alpha, Beta, Delta variants... Mu is another letter of this alphabet.

This standardized naming system aims to designate variants in a neutral way and not to stigmatize the countries where these variants appear.

Where does the Mu variant come from?

It was identified in Colombia in January 2021. It is therefore not new and was already known, but the WHO has just changed its classification as a "variant to follow" because it has mutations that could cause an "immune escape".

And that's where the bad news comes in: an immune escape means it could resist current vaccines.

For now, the Mu variant is still mainly found in Colombia as well as in neighboring countries such as Ecuador. Globally, COVID-19 cases attributable to the Mu variant total less than 0.1%, so this variant are certainly not about to invade the planet. On the other hand, it is already found in 39 countries, and at the local level, it currently accounts for 39% of cases in Colombia and 13% in Ecuador, with a steady increase.

How WHO tracks variants

The global health authority lists and categorizes the appearance of all variants on the planet.

At present, the WHO lists 4 variants of "concern", such as the Delta, which is now found in 170 countries, and the Alpha, present in 193 countries, i.e. Practically the entire planet. The Delta, the most contagious of the variants, appeared in India in the spring of 2021; Alpha, also more contagious than the original strain, was identified in Britain in late 2020.

In addition to the variants of concern, the WHO considers that 5 other variants are "to be followed". The Mu has just earned this classification because it "has a constellation of mutations, indicating potential immune escape properties," according to the latest WHO newsletter.

In its bulletin, the Organization recalls that this was also the case for the Beta variant, originating in South Africa, but indicates above all that other tests must be done and other data must be obtained and analyzed before being able to make a final decision. It is recalled that the Beta variant, which at one point worried experts, ultimately did not become dominant in the world and therefore did not really cause a generalized "immune escape".

"At this time, there is no evidence that [the Mu variant] competes with the Delta variant and it seems unlikely that it will be more transmissible," the WHO said. But this good news comes with a downside: "Immune exhaust could help change the speed of its spread in the future."

Messenger MRA vaccines have more flexibility

Messenger RNA technology vaccines, such as Pfizer and Moderna's, have been under study for more than 20 years; but have received their first official approval with COVID-19.

Since the technology is not yet well known to the general public, it's interesting to say that unlike traditional vaccines (such as the flu or the Astra Zeneca for COVID for example), which take many months to manufacture, messenger RNA vaccines are produced faster. Pfizer, for example, manages to produce new batches of vaccines in 60 days at its Michigan plant.

If ever the Mu variant significantly erodes the effectiveness of current vaccine formulations, we can at least say that we will probably not have to wait another year before compensating with more effective vaccines.