What we know about the Lambda variant so far
Compilation from various sources: Video from DW News. Articles from The Reuters, Al Jazeera, The Hill. All the links are below.
Tip: The numbers are referring to the news sources, just like Wikipedia. For example, number [1] refers to the Reuters link, [4] refers to Harvard.edu and so on.
Lambda variant research results: Shows vaccine resistance in lab.
[1]
From The Reuters:
In laboratory experiments, they found that three mutations in Lambda's spike protein, known as RSYLTPGD246-253N, 260 L452Q and F490S, help it resist neutralization by vaccine-induced antibodies. Two additional mutations, T76I and L452Q, help make Lambda highly infectious, they found. In a paper posted on Wednesday on bioRxiv
ahead of peer review, the researchers warn that with Lambda being labeled a "Variant of Interest" by the World Health Organization, rather than a "Variant of Concern," people might not realize it is a serious ongoing threat.
[2]
From Al Jazeera:
With a team of scientists, Soto-Rifo carried out preliminary studies –
not yet peer-reviewed – assessing the effect of the Chinese-developed CoronaVac vaccine on the Lambda strain. The results showed that Lambda was able to neutralise the antibodies generated by the vaccine. “These results were expected,” Soto-Rifo said. “The virus has changed and that can make the vaccine not as efficient as it was with the original virus, but that doesn’t mean the vaccine doesn’t work any more.
[3]
From The Hill:
A preliminary study, which
has not been peer reviewed yet and is available as a preprint, suggests that the antibodies induced by the
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are able to neutralize the lambda variant.
Summary about the Lambda variant from Al Jazeera article
Below is the summary from the article. To read the full article, follow the link [2] below.
About the Lambda variant: Where and when was it first detected?
- The Lambda variant was first detected in Peru last December.
- The exact origins of the Lambda variant, which was previously known as the Andean strain, remain unclear, but scientists say it first emerged in South America.
- Over the last three months, Lambda has grown to represent 80 percent of all cases in Peru, according to the country’s National Institute of Health.
- Around May, Chile and Peru requested the WHO to consider the variant and to add it to the list of variants of interest. In mid-June, the WHO accepted and labelled it as Lambda
Where has it spread?
The Lambda strain has already reached 28 countries. That includes Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands, Aruba, Belgium, France, Portugal and the United States.
Map from the Al Jazeera article.
What are the strain’s characteristics?
- Lambda strain has registered several mutations in its spike protein, the part of the virus that makes contact with human cells, binds to them, and then infects them.
- The mutation observed in the spike protein might be the reason for its “increased transmissibility… and it could provide a reduction of protection by current vaccines”, according to a study released in July by a team from New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine and released on the medical website bioRxiv ahead of peer review.
- According to virologist Ricardo Soto-Rifo of the University of Chile’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences, one of the mutations labelled as L452Q was similar to a mutation also shown in the Delta variant that is believed to have contributed to that strain’s high rate of infection.
- But Soto-Rifo cautioned that the real effect of the mutations remains unclear.
Should we be concerned?
According to Tsukayama at Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru:
- He remains cautious.
- Peru’s research capacity to measure the effect of Lambda is limited, which makes it harder to evaluate the variant’s spread.
- Gamma showed up in Brazil and expanded throughout the region, and it’s already considered a variant of concern.
- Lambda shares many of the characteristics of Gamma, and it has also spread in other countries.
According to Dr Roselyn Lemus-Martin (US):
- Not yet, said Dr Roselyn Lemus-Martin, who holds a PhD in molecular and cell biology from the University of Oxford and is based in the US.
- Right now, in the US, for example, we’ve seen that Delta keeps being the dominant strain, and what we’ve noticed is that Lambda is not spreading as quickly [in other areas].
Sources and details from these links:
[1]
Reuters August 3, 2021 - reuters.com
[2]
Al Jazeera July 27, 2021. aljazeera.com
[3]
Article from The Hill July 29, 2021
About the sources/news portals above:
Al Jazeera, is a Qatari government-funded international Arabic news channel based in Doha, Qatar, that is operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera Media Network. - Wikipedia.
The Hill is an American digital media company, based in Washington, D.C. which began as a newspaper publisher in 1994. - Wikipedia.
BioRxiv (biorxiv.org) is an open access preprint repository for the biological sciences co-founded by John Inglis and Richard Sever in November 2013. It is hosted by the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). - Wikipedia
Q & A: Coronavirus, Climate Change And Air Pollution
Sources: Harvard School Of Public Health [4] and WHO International [5]
[4]
From Harvard.edu:
Q: Does climate change affect the transmission of coronavirus?
A: We don’t have direct evidence that climate change is influencing the spread of COVID-19, but we do know that climate change alters how we relate to other species on Earth and that matters to our health and our risk for infections. As the planet heats up,
animals big and small, on land and in the sea, are headed to the poles to get out of the heat. That means animals are coming into contact with other animals they normally wouldn’t, and that creates an opportunity for pathogens to get into new hosts.
Many of the root causes of climate change also increase the risk of pandemics. Deforestation, which occurs mostly for agricultural purposes, is the largest cause of habitat loss worldwide. Loss of habitat forces animals to migrate and potentially contact other animals or people and share germs. Large livestock farms can also serve as a source for spillover of infections from animals to people. Less demand for animal meat and more sustainable animal husbandry could decrease emerging infectious disease risk and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Q: Will warmer weather slow the spread of coronavirus?
A: We don’t yet have a sense of what the changing weather will mean for COVID-19 and so we shouldn’t rely upon warmer weather to curtail transmissions.
Q: How likely are we to see infectious disease spread as a result of climate change?
A: Climate change has already made conditions more favorable to the spread of some infectious diseases. Future risks are not easy to foretell, but climate change hits hard on several fronts that matter to when and where pathogens appear, including temperature and rainfall patterns.
Q: Why are emerging infectious diseases on the rise?
A: Most of these diseases have entered into people from animals, especially wild animals. This trend has many causes. But a look at the origins of COVID reveals that other forces may be in play. With fewer places to live and fewer food sources to feed on, animals find food and shelter where people are, and that can lead to disease spread. (Too long to post the full answer here. Read the link [4] for details).
Q: Does air pollution increase the risk of getting coronavirus? Does it make symptoms worse?
A: Poor air quality are more likely to die from COVID-19 even when accounting for other factors that may influence risk of death such as pre-existing medical conditions, socioeconomic status, and access to healthcare. This finding is consistent with prior research that has shown that people who are exposed to more air pollution and who smoke fare worse with respiratory infections than those who are breathing cleaner air, and who don’t smoke.
Q: Can you identify the communities most at-risk, and how and why both COVID-19 and climate change harms them?
A: People with chronic health conditions, lower-income, and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by both COVID-19 and climate change. We know that African American communities are disproportionately exposed to air pollution and we’re now seeing this pollution driving higher mortality rates from COVID-19.
Note: Some Q&A from Harvard.edu are not posted here. Click link [4] below if you want to read more.
[5]
From WHO.Int:
Q: How concerned should we be about air pollution and COVID-19?
A: We are very concerned, because air pollution – as probably many people know by now – represents 7 million premature deaths caused every year due to the exposure of air pollution.
If you realise that exposure to air pollution will increase the risk of diseases of the respiratory system – and the COVID-19 is mainly a disease of the respiratory system – you will realise that we are increasing the susceptibility, the vulnerability of people who are exposed to air pollution.
Q: Explain to us exactly how air pollution impacts our body.
A: In the case of the patients with COVID-19, those who will be more at severe risk of developing illness are those with underlying conditions like high blood pressure or heart diseases or respiratory diseases. We see where air pollution might exacerbate those diseases and make the patients, the population, more vulnerable to the disease, plus to the severity of developing a more serious illness.
Q: What can we do to protect ourselves from air pollution, as well as COVID-19?
A: Well, I think for COVID-19, WHO has repeated many times what are the measures we need to take: from washing your hands, maintaining good hygiene, ensuring that you respect the physical distance that it is recommending, avoiding the very crowded places where you have very close contact with other people, ensuring natural ventilation, and the use of masks whenever they are recommended.
But in the case of air pollution, the most important recommendation we can say is, that in those countries where the levels of air pollution are very high, we need to enforce legislation to reduce those levels of air pollution. We need to make sure that as citizens, we are aware of the fact that the air pollution is affecting our health.
Sources and full details from these links:
[4]
Coronavirus and climate change. harvard.edu - Harvard School Of Public Health.
[5]
Air pollution and COVID-19. who.int - Full transcript + video from World Health Organization.
News compilation: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this week
[6]
From the World Economic Forum:
- Daily new COVID-19 cases have reached a six-month high in the United States, with more than 100,000 new cases reported nationwide.
- Sydney reports record COVID-19 case rise for second day. With Brisbane, Queensland, also in lockdown it means that more than 60% of the country's population are currently under hard lockdowns.
- Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 200.92 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 4.26 million.
- New data in Indonesia shows that the COVID-19 death rate for unvaccinated people was more than 3 times higher than for vaccinated people.
- Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine is about 93% effective through six months after the second dose.
- Research suggests that children who contract COVID-19 rarely suffer long-term symptoms - so-called long COVID.
- The United Nations is concerned about COVID-19 vaccines going unused, and has offered its help - but can only do so at the request of governments.
[7]
Global daily statistics this week. Chart from The Reuters:
Ten days ago, the WHO Director-General expected the total number of cases to pass 200 million, in the next two weeks. Today, it already passes 200 million cases.
Sources:
[6]
What you need to know about Coronavirus pandemic 6 August 2021. weforum.org - World Economic Forum
[7]
Coronavirus Tracker And Maps - reuters.com - Chart from The Reuters
PS: Sorry for the long post. The above article concluded some of my researches so far. I will post on this thread again in one week. Thanks for reading everyone.