What to Know About New COVID-19 Variant XEC Spreading in Europe

XEC is the new COVID-19 variant getting attention in Europe.It already been detected in the U.S.Doctors expect that it will continue to spread—here’s what to do.

Cases of COVID-19 have dipped slightly in the U.S. after a large summer wave, but doctors expect another spike on the horizon, as temperatures drop and people head indoors. Now, there’s a new COVID-19 variant spreading in Europe, the XEC COVID variant—and cases have been spotted in the U.S., too.

“The XEC variant appears to be the most likely one to get legs next,” Eric Topol, M.D., founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, recently wrote on X.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet publicly profiled XEC, but the Scripps COVID-19 epidemiology tracker Outbreak.info has sequencing information on the variant, which is already getting attention for how contagious it appears to be.

Meet the experts: William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

So, what is the XEC COVID-19 variant and how concerned about it should you be? Infectious disease doctors break it down.

What is the XEC variant?

The XEC variant is a new COVID-19 variant that’s been tracked around the world. “It’s one of the Omicron variants and it seems to be reasonably contagious,” says William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Data show that XEC is a hybrid of Omicron subvariants KS.1.1 and KP.3.3. (In case you’re not familiar with it, KP.3.3. is an off-shoot of KP.3, one of the FLiRT variants that widely circulated this summer.)

XEC has several mutations on the spike protein, which is what SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), uses to latch onto your cells and infect you. As a result, it may be more infectious than other recent strains.

“Like every SARS-CoV-2 variant that appears—and will appear, in perpetuity—the spread is related to evolution of the virus to develop new mutations that allow it get around some of the immunity engendered by prior infections and vaccinations,” says infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Where has the XEC variant been detected?

The XEC variant is currently more common in Europe. Right now, it’s been detected in Poland, Norway, Luxembourg, Ukraine, and Portugal. But XEC has also been spotted in China, and there have been 23 cases in the U.S. so far, including three in California.

“I anticipate that, if it is a more fit version of SARS-CoV-2, it will likely dominate most countries,” Dr. Adalja says. “However, the time scale will be different in each country.”

XEC COVID-19 variant symptoms

XEC is still a newer COVID-19 variant and, with that, there have been no new symptoms reported. These are the biggest symptoms of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Sore throat Congestion or runny nose New loss of taste or smell Fatigue Muscle or body aches Headache Nausea or vomiting DiarrheaWill the new COVID vaccine protect against XEC?

You can now get the updated COVID-19 vaccine, but that shot was formulated based on the KP.2 strain of the virus. KP.2 is related to XEC, but there are a lot of differences between them.

“It’s unclear how the updated vaccine will fare against this variant,” Dr. Adalja says. “But, based on the biological characteristics of XEC, it is not likely to be a good match and will not provide durable protection against infection.” That said, Dr. Adalja stresses that the vaccine will still “protect high-risk individuals against severe disease.”

How to protect yourself from the XEC COVID-19 variant

The CDC currently recommends that everyone aged 6 months and up get the updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness and complications from the virus. If you’re considered at high risk for serious complications of the virus, Dr. Schaffner recommends getting it now.

But if you’re an otherwise healthy person and levels of the virus are lower in your area, he says that “October is an excellent time to get the COVID vaccine,” given that it can help to extend your protection through the winter.

Wearing a mask (like a KN95 or N95) in crowded indoor situations and when traveling can help to lower your risk of getting infected, too, Dr. Schaffner says.

Dr. Adalja recommends having home COVID tests handy (and using them if you develop symptoms) and contacting a doctor about getting on an antiviral medication like Paxlovid if you’re high risk and get infected.

But Dr. Adalja also recommends keeping in mind that COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere, making it important to be prepared that you’ll interact with it at some point. “This is an endemic respiratory virus and will always be present,” he says.

This article is accurate as of press time. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly evolves and the scientific community’s understanding of the novel coronavirus develops, some of the information may have changed since it was last updated. While we aim to keep all of our stories up to date, please visit online resources provided by the CDC, WHO, and your local public health department to stay informed on the latest news. Always talk to your doctor for professional medical advice.