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– “XEC is definitely taking matters into its own hands… This seems to be the next variant.”
Is this new variant likely to worry ? For several days, a variant of Covid-19 called XEC has caused some apprehension. As the Los Angeles Times points out, these strains are more contagious than previous sub-variants of the coronavirus. This subvariant surpasses the last subvariant hyperinfectious, KP.3.1.1, which is now considered the most widespread nationwide. XEC is also starting to developright now, all over the world.
“XEC is definitely taking matters into its own hands… This seems to be the next variant,” “but there are months to go before levels are high”however, specifies Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla. “And it’s going to take several weeks, a few months, before it really takes root and starts to cause a wave.”
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THE Moderna and Pfizer vaccines which were released in August are, however, designed against the KP.2 variant, a predecessor of KP.3.1.1, and are therefore relatively close to the main variants in circulation. XEC, however, will not not as closely aligned. The new vaccines are much better for the current season compared to the injection launched a year ago, which targeted XBB.1.5, but the difference between what the latest vaccine is designed against and XEC is “quite considerable…and we’ll see how it goes”said Eric Topol.
Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional infectious disease chief for Kaiser Permanente Southern California, said she believes the new vaccines will offer always good protection against XEC “because there is some overlap, because they are all sub-grandchildren of the original Omicron. So there will always be some level of protection there.” “It will be a little difficult to know where this will lead, because for now, KP.3.1.1 is still the predominant variant,” said Elizabeth Hudson. “So we really need to monitor what’s happening not only in the United States, but also in Europe as the colder seasons approach. » Winter to come could therefore be particularly decisive.
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