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Authorities monitoring Lambda mutation, a ‘variant of interest’, PH health official says

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/07/06/20200310-covid-19-generic-photos-niaid.jpg"/><figcaption>Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. <em>Credit: NIAID</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA—Health authorities are monitoring the Lambda variant first detected in Peru, the head of the Philippine vaccine expert panel said Tuesday.</p><p>It remains a &quot;variant of interest&quot; and has not yet been detected in the Philippines, said Dr. Nina Gloriani. The Philippines has tested 7,000 samples for the Lambda or C.37 variant, the health department earlier said.</p><p>&quot;Hindi pa masyadong clear kung mas severe o mas nakamamatay. Kung titingnan mo ang mutation, kagaya ng Delta variant pero may naiba na isang amino acid sequence,&quot; Gloriani told ABS-CBN&#x27;s Teleradyo.</p><p>(It&#x27;s not yet clear if it is a more severe or more fatal variant. If you look at the mutation, it&#x27;s like the Delta variant but one amino acid sequence was different.)</p><p>The Delta variant is twice more infectious than the Alpha variant first reported in the UK, which is a COVID-19 mutation that is 60 percent more contagious than the virus&#x27; original strain.</p><p>Nineteen cases of the Delta variant, first detected in India, have been counted in the Philippines, as of Sunday.</p><p>The World Health Organization is studying the Lambda variant and if the institution sees that it is &quot;more transmissible, is causing more severe disease or resistant or resilient to the currently available therapeutics or vaccines, then we would decide to call it a variant of concern,&quot; said Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, representative of WHO to the Philippines.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1721281" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>&quot;It is present in several countries—I believe in 20 to 30 countries now—but so far, it has not demonstrated characteristics that will warrant its classification as a variant of concern,&quot; he told ANC&#x27;s Headstart in a separate interview.</p><p>&quot;There is no evidence to say it is more transmissible than the Delta variant at this point of time,&quot; he said.</p><p>He explained that not all mutations necessarily mean the virus is evolving into a stronger variant and some &quot;gradually fade out,&quot; such as the P3 variant that was initially detected in Central Visayas.</p><p>Still, Gloriani urged the public to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as it protects against severe cases of the illness.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/06/22/21/complete-covid-19-vaccination-prevents-variant-infection-expert-panel">Complete COVID-19 vaccination prevents variant infection: expert panel</a></li></ul><p>&quot;So far may mag pagsusuri ngayon, bumababa pag naka-2 (dose ng) vaccines. Mas mataaas ang protection against the severe form or even against hospitalization and deaths,&quot; Gloriani said.</p><p>(Based on studies, those with 2 vaccine doses have higher protection against the severe form or even against hospitalization and deaths.)</p><p>&quot;Ang data na lumalabas mas mababa ang transmission kapag nabakunahan kesa sa unvaccinated na nagka-COVID. Ang mga namamatay halos 99 percent ay unvaccinated kaya importante ang bakuna talaga.&quot;</p><p>(Data shows that transmission is lesser from vaccinated individuals than those unvaccinated who contracted COVID. Nearly 99 percent of fatalities are unvaccinated so the jab is really important.)</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1721165" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>Lambda is a "variant of interest" and has not yet been detected in the Philippines, the head of the country's vaccine expert panel said Tuesday.</p>

Lambda is a "variant of interest" and has not yet been detected in the Philippines, the head of the country's vaccine expert panel said Tuesday.