A New Variant of COVID-19 Has Been Found in North Louisiana & TX
Just when Louisiana was starting to come to grips with a more infectious strain of the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic - another one has been detected by health professionals in North Louisiana and Texas. Now, in addition to the original virus and the Delta variant, residents have the new "Lambda" variant to deal with.
According to the report from WBRZ, the first time this particular version of the coronavirus was detected in this country was in Houston, Texas last week. Now cases are reportedly popping up in North Louisiana and that honestly introduces a lot of questions for those trying to avoid catching the disease.
Is it More Infectious?
The answer is: We don't know. We do know that the Delta variant of the virus is more contagious than the original version. Since the Lambda variant was first detected back in December in Peru (where it is currently the dominant version), we haven't done the research and investigation into how it ticks like we have with the original or even the Delta variant.
Will My Vaccine Protect Me?
Unfortunately, the answer is again: We don't know. According to the report from KTBS, the vaccine used in Peru has so far proven to be less-than-effective against the Lambda variant - but, aren't using the same vaccine that we are. Peru's stocks are reportedly made up of the Chinese made vaccine. Health officials are relatively sure that the vaccines used in the U.S. will prove to be more effective.
How Aggressive
According to Dr. Aldo Russo, the medical director at Ochsner: "...we don't know whether this is going to be a more aggressive or less aggressive virus." Right now, medical professionals racing against the clock to learn more about this latest COVID-19 threat.
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