A Texas hospital system reported the first case of the lambda COVID-19 variant as the state continues to fight the spread of the delta variant.
According to ABC News, Houston Methodist Hospital, which operates eight hospitals in its network, said the first lambda case was confirmed Monday.
The lambda variant was first detected in Peru in December last year and is the most dominant variant in the country. There is not enough data available yet, but the World Health Organization designates it as a “variant of interest.”
This new development comes as COVID cases in Texas surge as the highly contagious delta variant becomes the dominant form of the virus in state and across the country.
The number of COVID-19 cases at Houston Methodist have nearly doubled in the past week, going from just over 100 last week to 185 on Monday, according to ABC News. The hospital has released a statement calling on residents to get vaccinated as the increase in cases and hospitalizations are already “adding stress to many of our hospitals that are nearing capacity.”
Despite the discovery of the lambda variant hospital officials say the delta variant, which makes up 85% of cases at the faculty is their biggest concern, at this moment .
“I don’t think there’s sufficient evidence at this point that we should be more concerned about lambda than delta, I still think delta is the primary concern for us. There’s a lot more evidence that we have that delta is much more contagious, the viral loads are much higher,” Wesley Long, medical director of Diagnostic Microbiology at Houston Methodist, told ABC News.
The delta variant makes up about 83% of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States, Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said on Tuesday.
51% of Texas’ state population aged 12 and older is fully vaccinated, according to state data.
