The Lambda variant, which is believed to have been first detected in Peru about a year ago, is a new concern to scientists who say mutations could potentially be resistant to COVID-19 vaccines.
The World Health Organization said the variant’s mutations could increase its transmissibility or possibly increase its resistance to “neutralizing antibodies.” The health body called Lambda, or C.37, a “variant of interest.”
“So far we have seen no indication that the lambda variant is more aggressive,” Jairo Mendez-Rico, a WHO virologist, told DW. “It is possible that it may exhibit higher infection rates, but we don’t yet have enough reliable data to compare it to gamma or delta.”
He told the German outlet that a SARS-CoV-2 evolves, it may start to become more transmissible, but not as deadly.
