How the once-feared mu variant all but disappeared

[marmar]

How the once-feared mu variant all but disappeared
The vaccine-resistant variant turned heads when it was discovered. It hasn't been detected anywhere for two weeks

By NICOLE KARLIS
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 6, 2021 3:28PM


(Salon) In September, news broke that a new coronavirus mutation — the mu variant, formally known as B.1.621 — could potentially evade vaccine-induced immunity.

"This variant has a constellation of mutations that suggests that it would evade certain antibodies, not only monoclonal antibodies, but vaccine- and convalescent serum-induced antibodies," President Joe Biden's COVID-19 adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters in September. "But there isn't a lot of clinical data to suggest that. It is mostly laboratory in-vitro data."

At the time, the idea of a vaccine-resistant variant sent a shockwave of fear through the world. The dreaded delta variant was already known to be more resistant to vaccines than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. Could mu, which was first discovered in Colombia, be worse than delta? Indeed, mu appeared to have specific mutations that have been associated with resistance to immunity, as well a mutation known as P681H that has been linked to accelerated transmission.

Now, nearly a month later — long after the World Health Organization dubbed the mu variant one "of interest" that needed to be monitored — data from outbreak.info shows the mu variant hasn't been detected in the U.S., nor anywhere in the world, since September 21, 2021. ..............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2021/10/06/how-the-once-feared-mu-variant-all-but-disappeared/

[JanMichael]

1. Honestly I don't think anybody really knows what covid is going to do

Or not do. we react we do not predict.

The two month surge then drop which just happens almost worldwide on staggered schedules is also a mystery.

My hope is that Delta eats up the other variants and with vaccines and caution in crowds and offices with masks most of the time this will just be something we control. There are a ton of new treatments trying to get approved now so even if you are vaccinated and get it within about 6 months treatment should be there to make it pretty much neutered.

Hopefully we can call it endemic and not pandemic starting in 2022 spring.

[Scrivener7]

2. Lambda also didn't have a long run in the USA. It seemed like Delta was eating everything and

starving the variants out.

Now it seems like Delta is slowing down. Hopefully that is because it is running out of unvaccinated people and it too will starve soon. Hopefully another variant doesn't show up while that is happening.

I have been very pessimistic about this since the beginning, but this seems like the same pattern that 1918 had toward the end.

I am cautiously hopeful.

[lagomorph777]

3. Hopefully Delta finishes with a few swing-district MAGATs for dessert,

then becomes a low-level nuisance. Won't happen before we start mass-vaccinating little kids, though.

[Scrivener7]

4. Also, the long-term protection of the vaccine remains a question factor.

Waiting for that approval for the Moderna booster.

[lagomorph777]

5. Like Flu vaccines, we'll need regular boosters/updates.