COVID-19: Lambda variant may be more resistant to vaccines than other strains
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The C.37 strain, known as the Lambda variant, currently accounts for approximately 80% of new infections in Peru and has spread to about 27 nations in the last month.
Scientists are concerned that a highly contagious new COVID-19 strain devastating Peru might be immune to vaccinations.
The C.37 strain, known as the Lambda variant, was first found in Peru in December 2020, accounting for fewer than 1% of all new cases.
According to a study published in the Financial Times, it currently accounts for approximately 80% of new infections in Peru and has spread to about 27 nations in the last month.
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A study at the University of Chile, Santiago, looked into the effect of Lambda on workers who had received two doses of China's CoronaVac Vaccine.
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Results suggest Lambda is more infectious than Gamma and Alpha and is better able to escape the antibodies produced by vaccines.
According to the World Health Organization, the strain contains a variety of changes that could have resulted in greater transmissibility or resistance to neutralising antibodies.
The spike protein used by Lambda to infect human cells has a unique pattern of seven mutations.
According to the data, about 10% of those who are infected die, with a death rate of nearly 600 for every 100,000 citizens, almost double that of the next country, Hungary.
(With inputs from agencies)