The Department of Health confirmed Monday that the first Lambda variant case in the Philippines is local.
“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.
The Lambda variant was seen in a 35-year-old woman.
According to Vergeire, the woman 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.
The Lambda variant patient was also pregnant was expected to give birth in July.
Vergeire said the patient would not infect her baby since the virus does not cross the placental border.
According to the DOH, the woman was asymptomatic and recovered following the 10-day isolation period.
PH’s first Lambda variant patient is local case: DOH
Vergeire also noted “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 was first recorded in Peru in August 2020 and was called a variant of interest by the World Health Organization in June.
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