DOH: Philippines' first Lambda variant case is local

The country's first recorded Lambda coronavirus case, a 35-year-old woman, is a local case, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.

“The patient is a local case, hindi po siya returning overseas Filipino base po sa further validation [She is not a returning overseas Filipino based on further validation],” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a radio interview.

Vergeire said the patient’s sample was subjected to genome sequencing because she “came from a cluster of cases."

In a separate briefing, the health official said the patient is from Region 6. Her vaccination status is still being determined.

Vergeire added that the patient tested positive for COVID-19 on July 22. 

“Noong July 22, nag-umpisa na po ‘yung contact tracing niya, so ngayon lang po natin nalaman na ito ay Lambda variant [Contact tracing began on July 22 but we only found out now that she is a Lambda variant case],” she said.

Vergeire also said the patient is pregnant and was expected to give birth in July, but the DOH has yet to confirm the current status of her pregnancy.

The health official said the patient would not transmit COVID-19 to her baby since the virus does not cross the placental border.

The DOH earlier said the patient was asymptomatic and tagged as recovered after completing the 10-day isolation period.

Vaccines still effective

Vergeire also stressed that “all our vaccines are still effective” after laboratory experiments found that the Lambda variant’s mutations help it resist neutralization by vaccine-induced antibodies. 

“Hindi naman po siya mas kumakalat compared to the Delta variant… Wala po tayong ebidensya ng resistance na sinasabi against the COVID-19 vaccine,” she said.

(It is not more transmissible compared to the Delta variant... There is no evidence of its supposed resistance against the COVID-19 vaccine.)

“Dalawa ang levels of immunity natin when we receive the vaccines. Meron po tayong tinatawag na sa antibody level at meron din no’ng cell-mediated immunity at hindi naman po naaapektuhan pa ‘yung cell-mediated immunity,” Vergeire added.

(We have two levels of immunity when we receive the vaccines. There is one at the antibody level and there is cell-mediated immunity, which has not been affected yet.)

The Lambda variant is currently classified as a variant of interest by the World Health Organization, but Dr. Rontgene Solante, an infectious disease expert, said it has the potential to become a variant of concern like the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma variants. —KBK, GMA News