Covid-19 continues to act although the next vaccination campaign is scheduled for October 15. According to specialists, a new epidemiological wave is not expected in the coming days, but residents must be careful and attentive to some symptoms.
Covid-19 spares no one, but seniors are the most exposed to this pandemic, hence the obligation to vaccines this month as a priority. Furthermore, a vaccination campaign will begin on October 15 in France against Covid-19 and the flu. If we thought that this episode was behind us, the latest bulletin from Public Health France published on September 18 indicates that the indicators are the same and the preferred target is those under 65 years old. If you have the following symptoms, go to the hospital immediately.
Return of Covid-19: the hospital system is not very impacted
What is the new variant?
Covid-19 continues to mutate four years after its outbreak in the world. In August, Public Health France presented a report indicating the study of a new variant whose symptoms could be more aggressive. This was KP3.1.1, a derivative of KP3 itself being a variant du JN.1. Clearly, Covid continues to diversify and it seems that a new variant is raging around the world and moving stealthily through Europe. XEC is the name of the variant reported last June in the city of Berlin. It seems that he conquered other countries, notably Asia and North America. Furthermore, 10% of cases detected last month in Slovenia belonged to this new strain. For limit the spreadwearing a mask is obligatory in certain places.
What are the symptoms of the XEC variant?
According to the latest data, health authorities consider that the XEC variant presents the same symptoms as its predecessor in terms of gravity. Therefore, the following symptoms should alert you:
- Cough,
- Loss of appetite,
- Body aches,
- Loss of smell,
- Sore throat,
- Fever.
For the moment, scientists are still studying this variant, but they recommend get vaccinated against Covid-19 and carry out recalls for better prevention.
Which countries are most affected?
The variant discovered in North America is gradually spreading in the USA and has been detected in Berlin. Since the end of the summer, it has continued to gain ground in Europe. According to information relayed on X by the data scientist specializing in Covid, XEC has spread to the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark and France. The variant is currently present in 27 pays from three continents, underlines the media West-France.
Covid-19: is the XEC variant more contagious than the previous ones?
The Omicron sub-variant
XEC is a sub-variant of Omicron and the vaccines are regularly updated to provide protection against the severity of the signs of the pandemic. In the document provided by the Directorate General of Health, all French people are urged to take their dose of vaccine as soon as possible. October 15. To this end, an American expert believes that: “The XEC is definitely taking hold. It looks like this is the next variant. But it will still be months before it reaches high levels“.
How contagious is XEC?
Many scientists agree that the XEC is slightly more contagious than the other variants of Covid-19 that we have already had to deal with so far. Remember that the different variants of this pandemic are classified by category. These include the variant of concern, the varying to follow and the variant under surveillance. For the moment, the XEC variant does not belong to any of these categories.
