Lambda COVID variant is in California: 5 things to know

A new variant of COVID-19 – called lambda – has arrived in California.

The emerging lambda variant has appeared in the news as it is spreading rapidly throughout South America. In California, at least 152 cases have been reported, the first as of September 2020, according to state public health officials.

Experts say lambda may be more infectious and vaccine resistant than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. But there’s no evidence, at least so far, that it’s as contagious as the delta variant that now dominates California.

So, should Californians be worried about this new variant? Not yet, say infectious disease specialists. Here’s what you need to know about lambda.

What is the lambda variant?

The lambda variant – also known as “C.37” – was first reported in Peru a year ago and is now spreading across South America, according to the World Health Organization. Researchers say it’s unique new gene deletions and mutations report that lambda may be more infectious than the original “wild-type” coronavirus and may be potentially resistant to current vaccines, although more studies are needed.

Because of these new genetic markers, the WHO declared in mid-June lambda a “variant of interest”. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has yet to do the same, in part because so few cases have been reported nationwide.

Delta variant dominating COVID-19 cases in the United States is considered a “Variant of concern” by the WHO and CDC, in part because it is much more infectious than the original virus.

Why am I hearing about lambda now?

Lambda made headlines this summer after the WHO noted its rapid spread in South American countries, including Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Brazil. It has since been detected in 29 countries, according to the WHO, including Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

While the WHO views lambda as a “variant of interest,” the CDC and the California public health agency have not followed suit.

End of July, Houston Methodist Hospital reported its first lambda case. Japan announced last week his first case, of a woman who arrived from Peru on July 20.

More recently, two high-profile laboratory studies of Japan and Chile – both in prepublication and not yet peer reviewed – have suggested that lambda may be more infectious and less susceptible to current vaccines than the original coronavirus. Japanese researchers have suggested that the current WHO designation of “variant of interest” for lambda can minimize its potential threat.

Lambda here in California? What about other states?

Yes and yes. As of September 2020, the lambda variant has accounted for 152 genetically sequenced COVID-19 cases in California, according to the State Department of Public Health. The first case was found in September, with 10 more in March, 88 in April, 43 in May, eight in June and, most recently, two cases in July.

The state agency declined to identify counties where the cases occurred.

Commercial and government laboratories are testing for variants by sequencing the genome of the coronavirus that caused a particular case of COVID-19 and looking for mutations and changes in the spike protein characteristic of the virus.

Yet not all COVID-19 cases are genetically sequenced to determine if they were caused by a variant, so the number of cases caused by lambda could be higher. Nationally, only 15 out of 1,000 cases are sequenced.

At least 1311 sequenced lambda cases have been reported in at least 40 states since the start of the pandemic, with 18 cases identified in the past four weeks, according to the public GISAID Virus Genetic Sequence Database. According to GISAID, only a tenth of 1% of genetically sequenced cases involve lambda.

How does the lambda variant compare to other known variants?

Scientists believe lambda is less contagious than the delta variant but more infectious than the original “wild-type” virus – at least in lab tests.

But they don’t yet know how lambda’s different genetic profile will affect community transmission, symptom severity, or vaccine resistance around the world. Some first clues emerge.

Chilean researchers tested lambda against antibodies from health workers who received the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine, finding that the vaccine did not work as well as with the original virus.

In addition, researchers at New York University lambda tested against vaccines licensed in the United States and found that the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine was less effective against him and the delta variant compared to the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Again, these are test tube studies that have not been peer reviewed, scientists warn.

Just because vaccines seem less effective when opposed to lambda in a test tube doesn’t mean they don’t protect against serious disease, said infectious disease specialist Dr Peter Chin-Hong at the ‘University of California at San Francisco. Almost all of the hospitalizations and deaths in California and across the country have been in unvaccinated people.

Should i be worried?