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XEC COVID-19 Variant Emerges: Here’s What We Know

by | Sep 28, 2024 | Top Ten

The CDC says it is not aware of any ’specific symptoms’ associated with the new variant.

New COVID Strain Emerges: What We KnowA new COVID-19 variant called XEC has begun to spread in multiple regions worldwide and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that no specific symptoms are associated with the variant.

The variant first appeared in Berlin in late June and has spread across Germany, France, Denmark, and Netherlands, said a report from data integration specialist Mike Honey, citing the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data.

CDC spokeswoman Rosa Norman told The Epoch Times on Monday that the CDC is monitoring “the emergence of variants in the population,” including XEC, and that “specific cases cannot be associated with specific variants.”

“Please continue to check the COVID Data Tracker for updated information on the common variants we’re seeing the U.S,” she said.

Symptoms

When asked whether XEC may produce different or more severe symptoms, Norman said the CDC is not aware of any “specific symptoms” associated with the variant or “co-circulating” strains.

A global health organization that has been monitoring COVID-19 variants, including XEC, said in a Monday update that it also has no data from patients or experiments about XEC’s symptoms or “what kind of illness” it can cause.
“However, this new variant will probably be similar to other COVID variants in terms of the disease caused, given its similar genetic information. So symptoms such as a high temperature, sore throat with a cough, headaches, and body aches along with tiredness are to be expected,” said GAVI, an organization that has the goal of increasing vaccinations in poorer nations.

‘Nothing New’

Norman also told The Epoch Times that XEC is only “the proposed name of a recombinant, or hybrid, of the closely related Omicron lineages KS.1.1 and KP.3.3.”

Recombinants can occur when an individual is infected with two different COVID-19 strains.

Meanwhile, Gavi said that it is only “the latest in a long list of past and current COVID variants being monitored” as the virus changes. “Recombinant variants themselves are nothing new, as COVID cases in 2023 were dominated by the XBB recombinant variant,” it added.

“XEC has very similar genetic material to both its parent variants as well other circulating variants, which are mostly derived from JN.1,” GAVI continued.

Several similar variants are being tracked, GAVI noted, adding that the recently discovered MV.1 variant has a similar spike protein mutation as XEC. The spike protein, which is on the surface of a virus such as the one that causes COVID-19, allows a virus to bind to healthy human cells and enables it to gain entry and replicate.

That variant was reported in India in June and “has also spread rapidly to other countries, making it one to monitor in the future,” according to the organization.

COVID Levels ‘High’

Reporting on XEC’s emergence comes as COVID-19 levels remain “high“ but are trending downward, according to data provided by the CDC that cites the virus levels in U.S. wastewater systems. The CDC wastewater data factors in all COVID-19 variants.

A map provided by the federal health agency shows that around 18 states are reporting “very high” levels of the virus, including a number of states in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest regions.
The agency’s variant tracking website shows that the KP.3.11 variant makes up about 52 percent of all cases, the KP.2.3 variant makes up 12 percent, and the LB.1 and KP.3 variants make up about 10 percent each. XEC does not appear to be listed in the agency’s variant database.

CDC Touts Vaccines

With XEC in mind, the CDC spokesperson again recommended that people aged 6 months and older get a 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine, which were both signed off by the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over the past summer.

“At this time, we anticipate that COVID-19 treatments and vaccines will continue to work against all circulating variants,” Norman said. “CDC will continue to monitor the effectiveness of treatment and vaccines against circulating variants. There are other actions you can take to help protect yourself and others from health risks caused by COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses.”

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