Lambda Variant Waits in the Wings

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

First we suffered through the COVID pandemic, and then as that appeared to be coming under control, wold spread almost as fast as the virus that a more dangerous "variant" of the standard COVID virus had emerged, this one called the "delta variant,"  a collection of mutations on the original virus that was more infectious and therefore spread quicker than its parent strain.  Today it is estimated that 83% of the current COVID cases in the US are the delta variant.

Viruses mutate as they struggle to survive in a population of humans that become increasingly more resistant through isolation, improved sanitary practices like hand-washing and wearing face masks, and vaccinations against the virus.  There have been several variations of the COVID virus that have been deemed significant to the point that they have been followed and studied by the World Health Organization.   In addition to the now prevalent delta variant, others like the alpha and gamma variants have also captured the interest of scientistic research and medical communities at one time or another.

This week USA Today reported on yet another COVID variant, this one dubbed "lambda" for the eleventh letter of the twenty-four-letter Greek alphabet, so presumably it is the eleventh variant to be deemed significant enough by members of the World Health Organization to be awarded its own Greek letter.  The lambda variant was first discovered in Peru last year, and has since spread to at least 29 other countries.  It has been particularly prevalent in South America and has been the subject of significant research in Chile.  News reports indicate that as many as 700 cases of the lambda variant have already been confirmed in the Untied States.

(Peru, incidentally, has the highest per capita death rate from COVID of any country in the world - 596 per 100,000, and is far above second place Hungary which has a COVID death rate of 307 per 100,000.)

The article in USA Today seemed to downplay the lambda variant, stating that "does not appear to be nearly as transmissible as delta."  However, an article this week in "Infection Control Daily" quoted the study out of Chile which suggests that the variant, "is highly infectious and may also be able to evade vaccine antibodies."  That has not yet been confirmed by more rigorous research.

But, if the South American research does prove to be correct, we could be in for another long bout of masking, social's distancing, and hoarding hand sanitizer and toilet paper.

Being tired of the pandemic does not stop it or cause it to go away.   Following rigorous health and safety protocols like social distancing, masking, hand-washing, general sanitizing, and being vaccinated are clearly the path forward, and ignoring those protocols poses continuing dangers to individuals as well as to the society in which they live.

It's about us, the big US, and if we cede the battle, the virus will win.  And if the virus wins, the battle and the game will be over - permanently.