The OCTA Research group said Monday that the Lambda variant, first detected in Peru, is not yet a variant of concern.
“Variant of interest ang Lambda. Hindi pa naman siya variant of concern. Kulang pa ang impormasyon kung mas nakakahawa siya o vaccine resistant siya,” OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said in an interview on Unang Balita on Monday.
(The Lambda variant is a variant of interest. However, it is not yet a variant of concern. There is still a lack of information if it is more transmissible or is vaccine-resistant.)
“Wala pa tayong masyadong impormasyon. Hindi pa tayo puwedeng maging alarmed sa Lambda variant. Ang Delta variant talaga ang pinaka-primary threat dito sa ating bansa sa ngayon,” he added.
(We do not have enough information yet. We cannot be alarmed yet about the Lambda variant. The Delta variant is the primary threat in the country now.)
“Hindi naman ibig sabihin i-overlook natin ang Lambda. Babantayan din natin ‘yon,” Guido said.
(It does not mean we will overlook the Lambda [variant]. We will also monitor it.)
The DOH confirmed additional COVID-19 variants, including the very first case of the Lambda variant.
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Lambda variant not yet a variant of concern: OCTA
The Lambda variant was seen in a 35-year-old woman.
The DOH is still investigating whether the first case is a returning overseas Filipino.
According to the DOH, the woman was asymptomatic and recovered following the 10-day isolation period.
The Lambda variant was first recorded in Peru in August 2020 and was called a variant of interest by the World Health Organization in June.
It allegedly monitors its transmissibility or ability to infect.
According to the World Health Organization, a variant of interest becomes a variant of concern when it is associated with an “increase in transmissibility or detrimental change in COVID-19 epidemiology; [an] increase in virulence or change in clinical disease presentation; or [a] decrease in effectiveness of public health and social measures or available diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics.”
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