The Lambda variant which is currently ravaging Peru is said to be resistant to COVID-19 vaccines and could increase its transmissibility or possibly increase its resistance to “neutralizing antibodies.”
As South Africans come to terms with the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus that has pushed the country into its third wave and forced another lockdown, the UK has issued a warning that a new variant is on the loose.
The Lambda mutation, or C.37, appears to have emerged in Peru last August and is being blamed for the country having the highest pandemic death rate in the world.
Lambda accounts for 81% of new infections from tests conducted since April. Nearly 10% of those testing positive with the variant have been reported as dying from COVID-19 complications.
Fears arise that Lambda COVID-19 variant from Peru may be resistant to vaccines https://t.co/kh7e2i3bYk pic.twitter.com/daKDCogdKY
— New York Post (@nypost) July 5, 2021
According to Jairo Mendez-Rico, a WHO virologist, there is no indication that the Lambda variant is more aggressive.
“It is possible that it may exhibit higher infection rates, but we don’t yet have enough reliable data to compare it to gamma or delta.”
The latest variant is said to be present in 30 countries across the world and has a rather unusual set of mutations.



