PGC confirms COVID vaccines’ effectiveness vs. Lambda variant

GAMBLE. COVID Vaccines have been made to combat the variants of the virus. ©JPOST

Philippine Genome Center Executive Director, Dr. Cynthia Saloma, confirmed in a webinar on Aug. 20 that COVID-19 vaccines work against the Lambda variant.

“I would like to emphasize that vaccines work both for the Delta as well as the Lambda variant,” Saloma said.

“They are very good at preventing severe cases as well as hospitalization,” she added.

It is currently classified as a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization, however, the United States Center for Disease and Control is not considering the variant as a VOI.

“I think that was one of the reasons why the US CDC does not consider [Lambda] as a VOI because it’s seems not to be spreading as compared to the Delta variant,” she said.

Earlier studies from Japan said the Lambda variant could penetrate the protection of COVID vaccines.

Study authors stated the Lambda variant not only enables increased infectivity among people, but also has an ability to resist antiviral immunity.

The Department of Health confirmed the first case of the variant in the Philippines on Aug. 15, 2021.

It was that of a 35-year-old woman who is being investigated if she is a local or an OFW case.

The said variant was first identified in Peru in August 2020.

The government of Peru said the country’s COVID-19 cases that were affected by the Lambda variant is at 81% as of April 2021.