While the highly infectious Lambda variant of Covid-19 may or may not be deadlier than any of the other strains - meaning the vast majority who contract it won't be hospitalized or die - researchers at the University of Tokyo have warned in a new study that it may be vaccine-resistant, according to Newsweek.
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 U.S., 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 U.S. -Newsweek
"...because the Lambda variant is relatively resistant to the vaccine-induced antisera, it might be possible that this variant is feasible to cause breakthrough infection," reads the paper, with "Vaccine-induced antisera" referring to antibodies which arise from vaccination.