New COVID strain XEC is a recombinant strain of two variants in the Omicron family: KS.1.1 and KP.3.3. The hybrid strain was first reported in Berlin in late June but has spread across Europe, North America and Asia, with Germany, France, the Netherlands and Denmark leading the charge.

XEC is on track to become the new dominant COVID-19 strain this winter. Yale and New Haven experts weigh in on why you should still get the new vaccine even though it may be less effective at neutralization because it is a recombinant variant.

Covid hospitalisations have surged across Britain at an “alarming” rate as a new variant of the virus emerged, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has warned. UKHSA figures showed the admission rate for patients testing positive for Covid XEC stood at 4.5 per 100,000 people in the week to October 6 – up from 3.7 a week earlier.

While the UKHSA isn’t specifically alarmed by XEC, they expect COVID to circulate more in winter, along with flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which they call the “three main winter threats.” Dr Bernal advises eligible individuals to get vaccinated against these illnesses.

A new study from the University of Southern California has also found the order in which symptoms of the new XEC variant occurs. In a report, doctors say the order of symptoms for XEC is fever, cough, sore throat, muscle pain or headache, nausea or vomiting and diarrhoea

The new Covid XEC variant is spreading across the UK, with symptoms that can be easily confused with flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) - but doctors say there is a specific order to look out f

KP.3.1.1 is still the dominant COVID-19 variant in the United States as it accounts for nearly 60% of positive cases, but the XEC variant is not far behind, recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows.