Lambda variant spreading in South America one of many Canada is monitoring: Tam

By Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press and Lucas Casaletto

OTTAWA – Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says the latest variant of interest in the COVID-19 pandemic has popped up in Canada in small numbers.

Tam says the Lambda variant first identified in Peru has been confirmed in 11 Canadian cases to date but adds it’s too early to know how widespread it is or what impact it could have.

“At the national level we know of 11 but there could be further ones in the provinces that are just being gathered at this moment,” she said.

Lambda was first discovered in August 2020, but the World Health Organization (WHO) only classified it as a “variant of interest” in mid-June this year, after it began appearing in multiple countries and was found to contain mutations that could make it more infectious or resist existing vaccines.

Variants are mutated versions of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, which occur naturally as the virus spreads.

Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan, says most mutated versions of the virus aren’t problematic but occasionally the virus gets a “lucky” break and mutates in a way that makes it stronger.

She says the vaccines for COVID-19 are so good that even if they aren’t quite as strong against some variants, they are still doing a very good job at keeping most people from getting seriously ill and we shouldn’t expect Lambda to be any different.

The Delta variant has become the predominant strain in some provinces including Ontario where it is most prevalent.

As of July 2, Delta’s effective reproduction number R(t), which corresponds to the average number of additional infections caused by one infection, is 0.98.

An R(t) of greater than one indicates exponential growth, per Ontario’s Science Advisory Table.

As of July 5, the R(t) of all combined COVID-19 variants is 0.86 but as of July 8, the estimated percentage of cases predominantly of the Delta variant sits at 83.8 per cent.


Tam, meanwhile, adds the country is “within reach” of fully vaccinating four out of every five eligible Canadians against COVID-19.

More than 40-million doses have been given so far, with 78 per cent of those 12 and older receiving at least one dose.

About 44 per cent of eligible Canadians have had two doses of vaccine.

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