Hybrid COVID variant XEC is more contagious: What to know about the new strain

Hybrid COVID variant XEC is more contagious: What to know about the new strain Show Caption Hide Caption COVID-19 at-home test kits will be available for free The federal government will ship COVID-19 home tests for free via COVIDTests.gov starting in late September. The side effects of newly discovered COVID-19 strain XEC might not be as severe, but is part of the more contagious variant class, experts say. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines XEC as recombinant or hybrid of the strains KS.1.1 and KP.3.3., both from the Omicron family that became the predominant strain in the U.S. late December 2022. The variant, which first appeared in Berlin in late June, has increasingly seen hundreds of cases in Germany, France, Denmark and Netherlands, according to a report by Australia-based data integration specialist Mike Honey. XEC has also been reported in at least 25 U.S. states though there could be more as genetic testing is not done on every positive test, RTI International epidemiologist Joëlla W. Adams said. The hybrid strain was first reported in Berlin late June but has spread across Europe, North America and Asia with the countries Germany, France, the Netherlands and Denmark leading cases. While there’s no indication the XEC strain will increase the severity of virus, it could potentially become a dominant strain as Omicron variants are more contagious. However, current available COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots are particularly protective against XEC as it is a hybrid of two Omicron strains. “These strains do have the advantage in the fact that they are more transmissible compared to other families, and so the vaccines that are currently being offered were not based off of the XEC variant, but they are related,” Adams said. Like other respiratory infections, COVID-19 and its recent Omicron variants will increasingly spread during the fall and winter seasons as students return to classes, kids spend more time inside and people visit family for the holidays, according to Adams. The CDC continues to monitor the emergence of variants in the population, according to spokesperson Rosa Norman. “At this time, we anticipate that COVID-19 treatments and vaccines will continue to work against all circulating variants,” Norman said in a statement to USA TODAY. The CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older, with some exceptions, receive an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the virus, regardless whether or not you have previously been vaccinated or infected. KP.3.1.1: This dominant COVID-19 variant accounts for over 50% of cases, new CDC data shows What is the dominant strain of COVID in the US? Between Sept. 1 and Sept. 14, 52.7% of positive infections were of the KP.3.1.1 strain, followed by KP.2.3 at 12.2%, according to the agency’s Nowcast data tracker, which displays COVID-19 estimates and projections for two-week periods. KP.3.1.1 first became the dominant strain in the two-week period, starting on July 21st and ending on August 3rd. The CDC continues to outline the basic COVID-19 symptoms, which can appear between two to 14 days after exposure to the virus and can range from mild to severe. These are some of the symptoms of COVID-19: Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Fatigue Muscle or body aches Headache Loss of taste or smell Sore throat Congestion or runny nose Nausea or vomiting Diarrhea The CDC said you should seek medical attention if you have the following symptoms: Trouble breathing Persistent pain or pressure in the chest New confusion Inability to wake or stay awake Pale, gray or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds Contributing: Ahjané Forbes – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2024/09/21/covid-xec-variant/75303152007/