What is the lambda variant and how contagious is this strain of COVID-19?
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, infections caused by the Lambda variant have been emerging. There’s no reason to sound the alarm yet, but there may be reason to think that there’s a chance that the alarm may have to be sounded at some point about the lambda COVID-19 mutation or C.37.
A study by investigators in Chile suggests that the mutation, which first surfaced in Peru about a year ago and is highly infectious, may also be able to evade vaccine antibodies. The variant is not nearly as worrisome as the Delta variant, which has been driving a rise in cases nationwide, but early studies suggest that it has mutations that make it more transmissible than the original strain of the coronavirus. There isn’t yet full data on vaccine effectiveness against the lambda variant. But so far, studies have found that the vaccines provide protection against the major strains of the virus. The WHO classified lambda last month as a global variant of interest — a step below variant of concern.
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