Wed Sep 18 10:53:11 UTC 2024: ## New COVID-19 Variant XEC Emerges, Potentially More Contagious Than Previous Strains

**[City, Date]** – A new COVID-19 variant, XEC, has emerged and is showing signs of becoming dominant, according to the scientific community. First observed in Germany in June, XEC has since been detected in the United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, and other European countries. In Denmark and Germany, it accounts for 16-17% of COVID-19 cases, with similar figures reported in the UK and Netherlands.

XEC, a sublineage of the Omicron variant, is a hybrid of KS.1.1 and KP.3.3 sub-variants. Scientists believe its unique mutations make it potentially more contagious than previous variants, including Delta.

While XEC is raising concerns, experts assure that current COVID-19 vaccines are still effective against it. Francois Balloux, Director of the Genetics Institute at University College London, stated that XEC has a “slight transmission advantage” but that vaccines should still provide good protection.

Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, predicts that XEC’s dominance will take weeks or months to materialize. “XEC is just getting started,” he stated.

Symptoms of XEC infection remain similar to previous variants, including fever, sore throat, cough, loss of smell, loss of appetite, and body aches. Researchers are urging increased monitoring to better understand the variant’s characteristics and impact.

**[Source: Down To Earth]**

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