A new – and potentially more transmissible – variant of COVID could become dominant this winter, experts believe.
Global cases of the XEC variant have been rising slowly since it was first identified in Germany in June.
In the US, the variant now accounts for 6% of sequenced infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. XEC has also emerged in the UK, but case numbers are not currently known.
Scott Roberts, an infectious diseases specialist at Yale Medicine, said: “One reason for the concern is that XEC has moved quickly enough to outpace the growth of all other variants in a few areas in Europe.”
However, it is not known to cause different symptoms, or have resistance to vaccines.
What are the symptoms?
Professor Francois Balloux, director of the University College London Genetics Institute, has previously said “there is no evidence that XEC symptoms may differ from those caused by any other [COVID] lineage”.
Yale Medicine’s Roberts also said the symptoms of the virus haven’t changed. “I’m not aware of any changes in the behaviour of the virus outside of the increased transmissibility,” he said.
That would mean the usual COVID symptoms listed by the NHS – including a high temperature or shivering, a new, continuous cough and a loss or change to sense of smell or taste – would still apply.
Other symptoms include shortness of breath, feeling tired or exhausted, an aching body and a headache.
How is it spread?
Professor Balloux said “XEC has a slight transmission advantage” and it is possible it will “become the dominant subvariant over the winter”.
The NHS says the virus “spreads very easily through close contact with people who have the virus. When someone with COVID-19 breathes, speaks, coughs or sneezes, they release small droplets containing the virus. You can catch it by breathing in these droplets, or by touching surfaces covered in them and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth. You are more likely to catch it indoors and in crowded places.”
Am I eligible for a vaccine?
COVID vaccines from the NHS are now only available for “people at increased risk” from the virus.
Eligible groups include people who are over 65; care home residents; frontline health and social care workers; and people in clinical risk groups, including pregnant women.
The UK’s winter vaccine programme opened on Thursday and appointments can be booked on the NHS website here. Alternatively, people can find a walk-in vaccination site here.
Meanwhile, people who are not in the eligible groups listed above can still buy COVID vaccines privately.
Boots is one high street retailer which provides a private vaccination service, with the 15-minute in-store appointments costing £98.95.
