By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE World Health Organization (WHO) is monitoring a new variant of the Covid-19 virus called Mu first discovered in Colombia.
And Trinidad and Tobago will also do its necessary tracings to detect if there is any evidence of that variant amongst the population says Principal Medical Officer of Institutions Dr Maryam Abdool- Richards.
The Mu variant is currently a “variant of interest.”
WHO stated that the variant has mutations that indicate a risk of resistance to vaccines and stressed that further studies were needed to better understand it.
“The Mu variant has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape,” WHO stated on Tuesday.
Dr Abdool-Richards said the Ministry of Health and the University of the West Indies (UWI) laboratory led by Professor Christine Carrington have been collaborating to trace any signs of variants of the virus.
She was answering questions from the media during the Ministry of Health’s virtual media conference on Wednesday.
Dr Abdool-Richards said, “Once there is a new variant, the required procedures, testing ability, kits and so on are made available. This of course is a new variant and we will provide confirmation of when we begin testing for this variant.”
When asked about the effectiveness of the available vaccines against this particular variant, she said the ministry continue to follow WHO’s guidelines and information.
“We can confirm that the available vaccines in Trinidad and Tobago which are all Emergency Use Licensed (EUL) approved by the WHO are all effective against the Covid-19 virus and prevents the Covid-19 infection,” she said.
