Over a thousand cases of the Lambda variant of COVID have reportedly been identified in the U.S. so far. The variant was first identified in Peru and the first U.S. case was reported last month at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas. Health officials are investigating how the Lambda variant made its way from Peru to Texas.
There's a lot left to learn about Covid-19's Lambda variant, which is still rare in the US. Here's what experts know so far. https://t.co/N6Q5sEW71H
— CNN (@CNN) August 7, 2021
Not much is known about the mutation, but early studies suggest Lambda is more transmissible than the original coronavirus. The Delta variant is also much more transmissible and the COVID mutation has changed how the virus gets into the cells and allows it do so more easily. It’s also able to significantly increase the amount of virus it produces making it more transmissible even among the vaccinated.
And it has been programmed to keep mutating according to former CDC director Robert Redfield. He predicts that future COVID variants will become even more infectious because the original virus got a jump start in a Wuhan lab.
Dr Robert Redfield
The World Health Organization has designated Lambda as a “variant of interest.”
— Martha MacCallum (@marthamaccallum) August 9, 2021