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A new mutation of the coronavirus known as the lambda variant that is believed to have increased resistance to vaccines has emerged in the United States.
Also known as C.37, the lambda variant was first discovered in Peru in November 2020. Peru has been one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, with 595 deaths from COVID- 19 per 100,000 people, the highest in the world. Peru has relied heavily on the Chinese vaccine known as Sinopharm, which is 79% effective in preventing hospitalizations. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 94% effective against hospitalization.
The lambda variant has since spread to eight South American countries and 41 countries around the world, according to the global science initiative GISAID.
“There are currently over 1,300 Lambda (C.37) sequences in the United States as of August 4, 2021, and the Lambda variant has been identified in 44 states,” a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control recently told Newsweek. and Prevention.
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Japanese researchers have found that the lambda variant contains three mutations on its spike proteins that make it more contagious than the original virus. Two other mutations in its spike proteins make it about 150% more resistant to antibodies produced by vaccines. A spike protein is the part of a virus that allows it to attach to a human cell.
The research has not yet been peer reviewed.
The World Health Organization has classified the lambda variant as a “variant of interest”, meaning that it is believed to be either more contagious than the original strain or more able to escape vaccines. . When more evidence emerges that a variant does any of these things, it will be reclassified as “variant of concern”.
Japanese researchers are concerned that classifying the lambda variant as a variant of interest will minimize the potential threat.
“Because the Lambda variant is a VOI, it can be considered that this variant is not a permanent threat from pandemic VOCs,” wrote the researcher. “However, because the Lambda variant is relatively resistant to vaccine-induced vaccines. [antibodies], it is possible that this variant is likely to cause a breakthrough infection. “
Still, it doesn’t seem likely that the lambda variant will spread as widely as the delta variant.
Those 1,300 confirmed cases of the lambda variant in the United States represent less than 0.2% of new cases. In contrast, the CDC says the delta variant now accounts for 93% of new cases. So far, the CDC has not classified the lambda variant as a variant of interest or concern.
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Marie Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist who is the technical lead for the COVID-19 response team at the WHO, recently said the lambda variant does not appear to “take off once it is reported in a country”.
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Keywords: Health, Coronavirus, News, World Health Organization, CDC, Health, Japan, Peru, Science
Original author: David Hogberg
Original location: Lambda vaccine-resistant variant is in the United States
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