HOUSTON — It’s not the variant driving COVID-19 cases in Texas but cases of the “mu” coronavirus strain are being reported at a Houston hospital, local media reports there indicate.

What You Need To Know

  • Houston Methodist doctors report about 50 cases of the "mu" COVID-19 variant there, local media reports indicate 

  • The World Health Organization recently added "mu" to its "Variants of Interest" list

  • WHO officials say more research is needed to determine if "mu" is more resistant to immunity from vaccination 

  • It's the delta variant that continues to drive cases in Texas and across the nation 

Houston Methodist doctors have confirmed about 50 cases there over the past week, though it has likely been in Texas for longer.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently added “mu” to its “Variants of Interest” list.

While the WHO said that further research on the variant is needed to determine if it is more resistant to immunity from vaccination or previous infection, it has “mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape.”

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

The “mu” strain, also known as B.1.621, was first identified in Colombia in January, and has since been reported in parts of Europe and South America — though, according to the WHO, the prevalence of sequenced cases of the variant is below 0.1%.

Still, it’s the delta variant driving COVID-19 cases in Texas and across the nation, health experts report.

Experts say the delta variant spreads more easily because of mutations that make it better at latching onto cells in our bodies.

The Texas Department of State Health Services on Sunday reported 2,607 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Texas as well as 1,221 new probable cases. Sunday saw 53 new fatalities attributed to the virus. There are currently 13,545 Texans hospitalized with the virus and the state is down to just 362 available staffed adult ICU beds and 81 pediatric ICU beds.