By Alec Go
An infectious disease specialist urged the public to remain compliant with health protocols as the Lambda variant, which can be as highly transmissible as the Delta variant, may cause another surge.
Vaccine expert Dr. Rontgene Solante cited recent findings by Japanese scientists that showed that Lambda has been causing a surge in Argentina, Peru, and Chile, which has prompted authorities to boost their vaccination rollouts.
Solante said Lambda’s transmissibility may be higher than variants of concern Alpha and Gamma.
“They tested it in terms of how it will enter into the ACE2 receptor. And more or less, it resembles [how] the Delta variant can go through and how fast it can go through and attach itself to the ACE2 receptor,” he said.
“[We] know that Delta can really go fast inside the ACE2 receptor, [and] can multiply faster. You have more viral load. If this Lambda variant can behave as such, then we have another variant that can be a driver of a possible surge of cases,” he added.
He said he is “highly positive” that vaccines will work against Lambda, but more data have yet to prove vaccines’ efficacy on such variants.
“There is also a possibility that it can reduce efficacy of some of these vaccines, but that finding is not yet so – there is no data yet that tells us where [these] vaccines are being tested against this variant,” he said.
In terms of administering booster shots of Sinovac Biotech’s CoronaVac amid limited supply, Solante said it would be limited to a population who are more vulnerable to developing severe infections.
The Philippines detected its first Lamba case on Sunday (Aug. 15). The first confirmed case has already recovered.
“As what we are experiencing with Delta, we need to treat this something like Delta. We need to enhance our vaccination rollout, protect ourselves, and always comply with the health protocols,” Solante said. – rir
