The Lambda variant, also known as the C.37 strain, was first discovered in Peru in August 2020 and was designated as a variant of interest by the World Health Organization on June 15, 2021.

The WHO is presently tracking this strain to see if it should be reclassified to a variant of concern, according to Dr. Maria Van Kerkove, WHO Technical Lead on COVID-19.

"It would become a variant of concern if it has demonstrated properties of increased transmissibility, increased severity, or has some kind of impact on our counter-measures," Van Kerkhove said during a 2 July briefing.

The World Health Organization has identified four mutations as variants of concern: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta.

Four more -- Eta, Iota, Kappa, and Lambda -- have been identified as variants of interest, and the rapid spread of the Lambda strain has piqued the interest of a number of experts in recent weeks.

Lambda is the most prevalent coronavirus variation in the Andean nation, which has the world's highest per capita coronavirus death rate and has spread to at least 28 other nations, notably in the U.K.

Can Lambda escape existing COVID-19 vaccines?

According to preliminary data, the Lambda spike protein has increased infectivity, which means it can infect cells more easily than the original Wuhan virus and its Alpha and Gamma variants.

Antibodies generated in people who received the CoronaVac vaccine (developed by Chinese biotech Sinovac) were less effective at neutralizing the Lambda spike protein than antibodies generated in people who received the Wuhan, Alpha or Gamma variants, early studies suggest.

It's important to note that infectivity is not the same as being more contagious among people. There isn't enough information to say that Lambda is inherently more infectious, but its mutations suggest that it is.

Is Lambda more severe than Delta?

In a risk assessment released in July by Public Health England, there isn't enough information on Lambda to know whether infection increases the risk of severe disease.

Continuous surveillance should be implemented as a priority in countries where both Lambda and Delta are present, according to the risk assessment. The objective would be to see if Lambda is capable of competing with Delta.

With the coronavirus continuing to spread at such a high rate, new variants are always a possibility. The Lambda variant emphasizes the dangers of these mutations enhancing the COVID-19 virus' ability to infect cells or disrupting existing vaccinations and antibody treatments.

Lambda will be studied further by the WHO to see if it has the potential to become a global public health threat.