The B.1.621 COVID-19 variant, labelled Mu, has been classified as a Variant of Interest by the World Health Organization (WHO). The variant was first documented in January in Columbia and is the latest variant to be added to the list.

According to WHO, the Mu variant has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape.

“Preliminary data presented to the Virus Evolution Working Group show a reduction in neutralisation capacity of convalescent and vaccinee sera similar to that seen for the Beta variant, but this needs to be confirmed by further studies,” the COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update published by WHO yesterday stated.

The other Variants of Interest include Eta of the B.1.525 lineage first documented in December 2020, Iota of the B.1.526 lineage first documented in the United States of America in November 2020, Kappa of the B.1.617.1 lineage first documented in India in October 2020, and Lambda of the C.37 lineage first documented in Peru in December 2020.

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