Lambda is latest mutation threatening pandemic recovery. Author: Keristen Holmes Updated: 8:24 PM CDT July 7, 2021 SAN DIEGO — The State of California lifted its COVID-19 restrictions less than a month ago and now news of variants has doctors all across the globe concerned. First, the Delta variant that's been found in California. Now the Lambda variant out of South America has been deemed the variant of interest by the World Health Organization. Yaneer Bar-Yam is a professor and the President of New England Complex Systems Institute. It’s his job to study and find scientific solutions to real-world problems like COVID-19. "The Lambda Variant is the latest in a string of variants that makes it more difficult for us to control the disease. They infect quicker and they burn through your lungs faster," Bar-Yam said.