Lambda Covid variant shows vaccine resistance: Report

The Lambda variant of Covid-19, behind 1,000 cases in US, may be more resistant to vaccines and is highly infectious, researchers at Japan's University of Tokyo have warned in a new scientific paper published on July 28.

However, the study is yet to be peer reviewed, said a Newsweek report on Wednesday.

Like the Delta variant, Lambda is highly transmissible but Japanese researchers believe that three mutations in the variant's spike proteins make it more resistant to antibodies induced by vaccination.

Lambda, which is also known as the C.37 variant, is responsible for 1,037 cases of Covid-19 in the US, according to data from the GISAID Initiative, which promotes the rapid sharing of information about influenza and coronaviruses.

The variant was first identified in Peru in August, 2020, where it has now become the dominant strain of the virus, and it has been reported in 29 countries including the US

Researchers at the University of Tokyo published their paper at bioRxiv, a "preprint server for biology," last Wednesday ahead of the paper's peer review.

In lab experiments, they identified three mutations in the Lambda variant's spike protein—called RSYLTPGD246-253N, 260 L452Q and F490S—that make it more resistant to neutralization by antibodies that are induced through vaccination. This makes the strain more resistant to vaccines than the original Covid-19 strain first identified in Wuhan, China.

The research team also identified two further mutations—T76I and L452Q—that make the Lambda variant highly infectious. They also warn that the World Health Organization's classification of Lambda as a Variant of Interest (VOI) rather than a Variant of Concern (VOC) might lead some people to take the threat less seriously.