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A number of virologists have told the Wall Street Journal that neither the mu and lambda variants of the coronavirus will supplant the delta variant.
Can the mu variant and the lambda variant overtake the United States?
Experts told the Wall Street Journal that the delta variant was “well positioned to maintain its dominance” over other variants currently spreading in the United States.
- Right now, the delta variant accounts for about 99% of all COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to the WSJ.
- Experts expect the delta variant to continue to outperform lambda and mu variants – as well as any other new variants – in finding people vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, according to the Wall Street Journal.
This has been the sentiment among several experts for weeks. For example, Dr. Anna Durbin, professor in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Newsweek that the lambda variant would not have a great opportunity to overtake the delta variant.
- Lambda “is going to have a problem here in the United States and that is the delta variant,” Durbin said.
Can COVID variants overtake the delta variant?
She said the variants like to compete for the vulnerable.
- “These viruses are all competing with each other for the advantage to be the one that survives,” Durbin told Newsweek. “We know that the lambda variant has some of the same mutations as the delta variant which we believe will allow it to be more transmissible, so it would be difficult to compete with the delta variant.”
Why mu and lambda worry experts
Both the mu and lambda variants have raised concerns among experts. For example, one study – which was published online via bioRxiv and was not peer reviewed – found that the lambda variant could potentially escape vaccines.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has said the mu variant has mutations that would help it escape COVID-19 vaccines. The WHO added it to its list of “interest” variants in August.
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