BELIZE CITY, Mon. Aug. 23, 2021– Around mid-June of this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) identified a new Covid-19 “variant of interest”, which was named the Lambda or C.37 variant. This new variant, which is said to be displaying signs of vaccine resistance, has spread rapidly across Latin America, and is now showing up in two countries located next to Belize — Guatemala and Mexico.

A number of cases carrying the new variant’s genetic sequence have been discovered in Mexico, and just days ago, the first case of the Lambda variant was discovered in Guatemala.

This is of grave concern to the Belizean public, given the fact that the country is currently facing a third wave of infections, and border-jumping is still taking place.

It may be reassuring to know that there has been no confirmation that the new variant poses a greater to risk to human life than the strains already seen in Belize. “Although it is possible, currently there is no indication that variants are more dangerous and lead to increased mortality,” WHO virologist Jairo Mendez-Rico has stated.

In Peru, approximately 80% of Covid-19 infections were linked to the Lambda variant in June. A virologist from Lima’s Cayetano Heredia University, Pablo Tsukayamam, commented, “It is very likely that new variants will appear during a third wave of coronavirus infections during the South American winter between July and September.” “They may not be any more lethal but they will definitely be more communicable,” he said.

Some believe that Latin America, a region that has already been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, will be the new breathing ground for variants as vaccination efforts across those countries lag behind the world’s pace of vaccination.

Scientists believe that new variants will continue to emerge until at least 80% of the world’s population is vaccinated.