Ben Sessoms, The Charlotte Observer\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The delta variant is by far the dominant strain of the coronavirus in North Carolina and the rest of the country, but experts say there are also other variants to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before delta, there was alpha, beta and gamma<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now there is another, lambda, which is primarily spreading in South America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some cases of lambda were found at a Houston hospital last month<\/a>, according to KHOU11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other cases were found in Dallas<\/a> earlier this week, according to The Dallas Morning News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But is it spreading in North Carolina? And does the vaccine protect against it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is what you need to know about the lambda variant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lambda variant, or C.37, is a mutation of the original strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It first emerged in Peru back in December. Since then, over 1,200 cases of it have been found <\/a>there. In Chile, over 1,400 have been reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The World Health Organization recognizes it as a variant of interest, meaning that it\u2019s capable of causing significant community transmission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a step below a variant of concern which includes alpha, beta, gamma and delta, which have been shown to increase transmissibility and have had a significant effect on public health, according to WHO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among all the sequenced coronavirus samples nationwide, only 810 have been found to be lambda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By comparison, over 86,000 have been found to be delta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to testing limitations, only a fraction of viruses are sequenced, but officials are still confident they\u2019re an accurate overall representation<\/a> of variants among infections, The News & Observer previously reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn\u2019t list lambda as a variant of concern in North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. David Wohl, infectious disease specialist at the UNC-Chapel Hill, said the lambda variant is potentially concerning because in theory, the COVID-19 vaccines are not as effective against it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s indications that the antibodies from people who\u2019ve been vaccinated do not neutralize lambda as well as they neutralize other variants,\u201d Wohl said. \u201cThat\u2019s the concern with lambda is that in laboratory tests, there may be diminished activity. It still works but not as avidly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But some lab tests also show diminished vaccine effectiveness with delta, he said, yet in people, where delta is spreading much more rapidly than lambda, it\u2019s a different story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf [the vaccine] didn\u2019t work against delta, we would have our hospital and ICU filled with people who got Moderna, Pfizer and J&J,\u201d Wohl said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re not seeing that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to state officials, over 90% of people hospitalized with COVID-19, and almost all ICU patients, are unvaccinated<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is lambda?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Is it spreading in NC?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Is it vaccine resistant?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n