‘Mu’ CCP Virus Variant Not ‘An Immediate Threat’: Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is seen before receiving his first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Md., on Dec. 22, 2020. Patrick Semansky/Pool via Reuters

A variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 and is spreading in South America is not a problem for the United States right now, a top health official said Thursday.

The “Mu” variant, formally B.1.621, was classified as a variant of interest by the United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO) this week.