The Delta variant remains the main concern of the US, but the Lambda variant is beginning to make its way: the first 1,060 cases of the ‘new’ coronavirus variant have been identified in the United States, as CNN reports on the basis of data shared by the independent body Gisaid. The number is hardly relevant at the moment, especially considering that 83% of cases in the country depend on the Delta variant. The spotlights, however, are also beginning to light up on the Lambda, first identified in December 2020 in Peru and now monitored. WHO gives the Delta variant the status of a ‘variant of concern’. Lambda is one step down and is considered a ‘variant of interest’. “When a variant is identified and demonstrates the ability to spread rapidly in a population, you need to be concerned,” Professor Gregory Poland, director of the vaccine research group at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told CNN. “Variants come out every day, if the term variant defines new mutations. The question is: do these mutations give the virus some kind of advantage and, consequently, a disadvantage to humans? The answer for Lambda is yes.” At the moment, the Lambda variant in the US doesn’t worry when the Delta. The first studies, in any case, show a higher transmissibility than the ‘basic’ version of the coronavirus. “The Lambda variant has worrying mutations but remains quite rare in the US, despite having been around for several months,” says Professor Preeti Malani, head of the infectious disease division at the University of Michigan. “It is difficult to know for sure how transmissible the Lambda variant is and how well the vaccines work. At the moment, it appears to be more transmissible than the original virus. Studies seem to suggest that current vaccines provide protection. We have learned that during the pandemic, things can. change rapidly: controlling the spread of covid-19 in general will help manage Lambda. As long as there is uncontrolled circulation of the virus, we will see other variants in the future. The only solution is a broad vaccination to control the spread and avoid further mutations. It is a race”.
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