The Peruvian variant, also known as Lambda or C.37, is an emerging version of SARS-CoV-2 that was first detected in Peru in August 2020. It has since spread rapidly in that country, where it now accounts for the vast majority of new cases.
Lambda is also highly infectious compared to the original December 2019 coronavirus strain, but, at least in the USA, it isn't believed to be as infectious as the Delta strain. Apparently, in Peru, the most commonly used vaccine is CoronaVac, the Chinese-made vaccine, considered to be much less effective than what we've used in the USA. The lambda strain does seem to be capable of evading some or all of the immunity conferred by CoronaVac, but does not seem – in lab tests of serum antibodies – to evade immunity resulting from the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Note that these lab tests only looked at circulating antibodies and did not address the more important immunity conferred by killer T-cells.
Now, the lambda strain has appeared in Houston.
Investigators in Chile conclude that the lambda COVID-19 variant is not only more infectious than standard SARS-CoV-2, but could also possibly shrug off vaccines. The first case in the United States has been spotted at Houston Methodist Hospital.
www.infectioncontroltoday.com