Texas hospital reports first case of lambda variant COVID-19

A Texas hospital system on Monday confirmed its first case of the lambda variant COVID-19 which was first detected in Peru and quickly spread throughout South America.

Houston Methodist Hospital, a Texas hospital system with eight facilities, confirmed its first lambda case on Monday, ABC News reported.

Data on the lambda variant is currently limited, although it has been designated as a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization. The designation distinguishes it from a “variant of concern” such as the delta variant.

News of this new variant in Texas comes as cases in the United States have increased, with health officials saying the highly contagious delta variant has become the dominant strain of coronavirus in the country.

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The director previously said the pandemic will now become a pandemic that will directly affect the unvaccinated, and U.S. health officials, in addition to the Biden administration, have been pushing for Americans to be vaccinated.

Wesley Long, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist, told ABC there was not enough evidence to suggest that the lambda variant is of more concern than the delta strain at this time.

“I don’t think there is enough evidence at this point that we should be more concerned with lambda than delta. I still think delta is the main concern for us. There is a lot more evidence. that we have that the delta is much more contagious, the viral loads are much higher, ”he said.

ABC reports that the number of COVID-19 cases in Houston Methodist nearly doubled last week, from just over 100 last week to 185 on Monday.

“We are seeing an alarming increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the Houston area, with the largest increase occurring over the weekend,” the hospital system told ABC. “The increase in hospitalizations is adding stress to many of our hospitals as they approach capacity.”