Multiple variants of the virus behind COVID-19 are circulating in Canada, and lambda has now joined their ranks.
Cases are being reported across much of the country, and while the numbers are still small, public health officials are keeping a close eye on this variant of interest first identified in South America.
So what do Canadians need to know about lambda? Here’s the latest:
What is the lambda variant?
Lambda, or C.37, is one of the latest variants of the virus behind COVID-19, and it’s now being reported in Canada.
The first samples were found in Peru back in August 2020, but it was only deemed a variant of interest by the World Health Organization (WHO) in mid-June.
“Lambda has been associated with substantive rates of community transmission in multiple countries, with rising prevalence over time concurrent with increased COVID-19 incidence,” reads an epidemiological update from the WHO released on June 15.
How widespread is it?
In Canada, 11 cases of the variant have been reported as of July 5, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) told CBC News in a statement.
PHAC is “monitoring carefully” for more cases and research tied to the variant’s transmissibility and vaccines’ effectiveness against it, said spokesperson Anne Génier.
According to the WHO, lambda has also been reported in dozens of other countries.
So far, it’s hitting South America the hardest. The variant has been on the rise in countries beyond Peru such as Ecuador, Argentina and Chile — and in the latter, it recently accounted for more than a third of all the country’s sequenced cases.
A health-care worker checks on a patient at the COVID-19 specialized ward at the Honorio Delgado Hospital in Arequipa, Peru, in late June. (AFP/Getty Images)
What makes lambda worth keeping an eye on?
Lambda carries a “number of mutations,” according to the WHO, which may make it more transmissible or resistant to neutralizing antibodies.
“There are mutations on the spike protein portion of the virus, which as we know is one of the important pieces of the virus, and the mutations are slightly different than some of the previous mutations we’ve seen,” said Dr. Lucas Castellani, an infectious diseases specialist at the Sault Area Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
“That said, what we don’t know is what all of this means.”
So far, there’s “limited evidence” on the impact of the changes to the spike protein, the WHO notes, but public health teams around the world are hoping to learn more about how the variant operates.
Dr. Anthony Chow, professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia’s division of infectious diseases, also cautioned that the strain has the potential to turn into a variant of concern.
“It is highly transmissible, and that it has been a hallmark of variants of concern — the way they spread,” said Chow.
WATCH | Physician explains what we know — and don’t — about the lambda variant:
Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.-based infectious disease specialist Dr. Lucas Castellani explains what we know, and don’t know, about the lambda variant and how it operates. 1:00
Do vaccines work against this variant?
Despite its multiple mutations, there’s early evidence that yes, vaccines likely protect you from getting infected by lambda.
A recent U.S. lab-based study — which was published online, but has not yet been peer-reviewed — suggests that the “vaccines in current use will remain protective against the lambda variant and that monoclonal antibody therapy will remain effective.”
But the WHO stressed that further studies are still needed to “validate the continued effectiveness of vaccines.”
Chow stressed the need for Canadians to keep getting vaccinated to protect themselves as best as possible.
“Those who hesitate about getting their vaccines, they’re still starting to have doubts or worrying about side effects,” he said, “but the real harm from infection by the virus is so much greater than any possible side effects.”
A Toronto resident receives a COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination clinic held inside Scotiabank Arena in late June. Experts have stressed the need for Canadians to keep getting vaccinated to protect themselves as best as possible from variants of the novel coronavirus that cases COVID-19, such as lambda. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press)
How worried should Canadians be?
Most Canadians shouldn’t be too worried about lambda, experts told CBC News — at least not yet.
“If you’re vaccinated, I think it’s not too concerning,” said Castellani. “We’re changing this virus from one that causes severe illness, death, and debilitation to patients to one that’s manageable.”
But as the country keeps loosening restrictions, he warned some Canadians will bear the brunt of the variant’s spread.
“We’ll probably see more cases as more people are travelling,” he continued. “Also, we’ve reduced restrictions at the border to some degree … it’s almost impossible to prevent future transmission events from happening.”
Jeffrey Joy, an assistant professor in the division of infectious diseases with the University of British Columbia’s department of medicine, agreed there’s no cause for alarm just yet — but he also stressed the need to keep monitoring for this, and other, virus variants.
“What we really need to do in Canada is set up a good system of molecular surveillance, so that we can act on the hotspots of new variants as they arise in Canada before they spread widely in the population,” he said.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
