Experts Says Covid-19 Mu Variant is Less Dangerous Than Delta
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9 September 2021 13:24 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Genetic Working Group of the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing (FKKMK) of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) stated that the Mu Variant or B1621 variant of the corona virus is not as dangerous as the Delta variant.
Head of the Genetics Working Group of FKKMK UGM, dr. Gunadi explained that the Mu variant is categorized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the Variant of Interest (VoI) or those that need attention, while the Delta variant is in the Variant of Concern (VoC) category or that needs to be watched out for.
"Because Delta in the VoC category, the level is certainly above Mu, which is in the VoI category," he said.
Although it has not been detected in Indonesia, the Mu variant needs to be anticipated to cause a decrease in antibody levels, either due to infection or vaccination.
"Initial research results show that the Mu variant causes a decrease in neutralizing antibody levels, either due to natural infection or vaccination, similar to the Beta variant. However, further research is needed," he explained.
He said that until now the Mu variant has not been detected in Indonesia, but there needs to be tightening at the entrance so that it does not spread as widely as the Delta variant. However, regarding the level of danger, Gunadi believes that this variant is not as dangerous as the Delta variant.
According to him, the corona virus continues to mutate by giving rise to new variants that have different levels of malignancy and severity when infected. However, those who have been exposed to COVID-19 or who have received the vaccine already have natural immunity.
"Natural immunity caused by natural infection certainly exists, but how much it can protect against the risk of being infected with other variants requires further research," he said.
According to him, anticipation is still needed by implementing strict health protocols and accelerating the vaccination program. However, those who have been vaccinated are able to minimize the severity if exposed to COVID-19 even though they are infected with different variants.
Read: Covid-19 Mu Variant Not Yet Detected in Indonesia
Yayuk Widiyarti | Maudey K. Setyakusuma (Internship)