What do you need to know about the new XEC variant of COVID?

The XEC variant of COVID is a newly emerging strain that is mainly spreading in Europe, but there have also been cases reported in countries such as the United States.

The variant was first discovered in Germany in June 2024 and is expected to become the dominant variant globally due to its rapid spread. XEC is a recombinant variant, meaning it evolved from two related strains of the JN.1 variant.

Such a merger can occur when one person is infected with two different strains. So instead of this slow march - one mutation at a time - that we have seen with the SARS-CoV-2 variants, this has the potential to make a big leap, as it combines entire segments of two genomes into one new genome.

The symptoms of XEC are similar to those of other COVID variants, including fever, sore throat, cough, headache and body aches. There is currently no evidence that it causes more severe illness than previous variants, although data is still being collected.

Vaccines developed against earlier variants, particularly the Omicron-related strains, are believed to protect against XEC because the variant’s spike protein is closely related to those already targeted by vaccines. Experts are recommending getting the COVID-19 vaccinations this year as well, as they are expected to reduce the risk of severe illness caused by XEC.

Source: https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/3-things-to-know-about-xec-the-latest-covid-strain

Author: Prof. Dr. Dirk Devroey - Latest update: 2024-10-07 - Copyright: Clinifacts 2025