According to scientists, it may take many weeks or a couple of months before the XEC takes hold and begins to cause a wave.
Scientists around the world are sounding the alarm over the new COVID-19 variant, known as XEC, which has spread across Europe. First detected in Germany in the summer, the highly mutated strain of the coronavirus has now been detected in several countries, including the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark.
According to scientists, the XEC variant may be the “next big challenge” for hospitals. “Right now, the XEC variant seems to be the one that is most likely to gain ground,” Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California, wrote on the social media website X, formerly known as Twitter. Dr. Topil said it may take “many weeks, a couple of months before it really takes hold and starts causing a wave.” He added: “XEC is definitely taking over.”
Experts say the strain is a combination of the omicron subvariants: KS.1.1 and KP.3.3. While KS.1.1 is a FLiRT variant contributing to the rising number of COVID-19 cases worldwide, KP.3.3 is a type of FLuQE, where the amino acid glutamine is mutated to glutamic acid in the spike protein, making it super-efficient at binding to human cells.
Many reports published around the world have said that XEC has some new mutations, so it is important to take vaccines and booster doses.
Scientists downplay the effectiveness of the new microbe
According to scientists, although the new variant is said to be more contagious, it is not likely to be as deadly as some of its predecessors. According to Professor Francois Balloux, director of the Institute of Genetics at University College London, “although XEC has a slight transmission advantage over other recent COVID-19 variants, vaccines should still offer good protection,” he told BBC News in a recent interview.
Is XEC different from FLiRT?
According to experts, the symptoms of the XEC variant are not much different from previous strains, which include:
- Fever
- Tiredness and fatigue
- Headache
- Sore throat
- Body aches
- Trouble sleeping
- Rhinorrhea
- Loss of appetite
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not yet released any data on the XEC variant and it is not yet known how many people in the UK have contracted it. However, the latest figures show that COVID-19 cases in the country are rising rapidly – by 4.3 per cent each week.
Scientists keep a close eye on the statistics
So far, more than 500 samples from 27 countries (including Poland, Norway, Luxembourg, Ukraine, Portugal and China) have been found to contain XEC, according to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, an effective and trusted mechanism for rapidly sharing published and “unpublished” influenza data globally.
Although its prevalence remains low in the United States and Canada, scientists say they are closely monitoring its spread, especially in Europe. Experts say you should get vaccinated against the virus if:
- Adults 65 years or older
- Living in a nursing home for older adults
- Older than six months in a clinical risk group
- Some frontline NHS, care home and social care workers
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