Coronavirus cases in the United States in the past week have increased by 300% from the week of August 31-September 7 last year. This is what emerges from the data of John Hopkins University. In the week from 30 August to 6 September 2021, in fact, the infections recorded were 1.14 million, while they were 287,235 in this period in 2020.
The United States, during the last weekend, exceeded 40 million infections. Nearly 176 million Americans are fully vaccinated, of whom over 95 million have received the Pfizer vaccine; about 66 million people have been vaccinated with Moderna and 14 million with Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose, so at the moment there is no mention of an additional dose.
The Mu variant
Now, however, there is another variant, the “Mu”. In the US, in fact, the pace of the Delta variant is slowing down, with infections decreasing in some hard-hit states, such as Missouri, but there are now fears for the Mu variant. Since it was discovered in Colombia in January it has spread to about 40 countries, while in the US – according to Newsweek – it is present in 49 out of 50 American states (and in the District of Columbia, where the capital Washington is located). California reported the highest number of cases (384) of the latest variant (which experts fear is even more contagious than Delta), and 167 are in Los Angeles County. Virologist Anthony Fauci said health officials are “closely monitoring the Mu variant, although it is not even close to becoming the dominant Covid strain in the United States.”