Covid-19 virus in a laboratory -
Once again, a new variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 has emerged, catching the attention of health experts. The variant, named XEC, is a recombinant strain, resulting from the combination of two variants, KS.1.1 and KP.3.3. Dr. Raj Rajnarayanan, an associate professor and assistant dean at the New York Institute of Technology, explained the development of this variant, stating, “We controlled [the virus] a little bit initially, but then let it rip, and once you have uncontrolled spread, it does mutate.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now added XEC to its variant tracker, marking its global share at 4.7%, and 6% in the U.S. by the end of last month.
Dr. Rajnarayanan, who has been studying the repurposing of old drugs to treat viruses since the original SARS outbreak, believes XEC could soon dominate, outpacing the current leading variant KP.3.1.1 by winter 2024/25. “It might start becoming the top circulating lineage,” he predicted, according to Al-Jazeera.
While XEC is rising fast, experts like Dr. Rajnarayanan and former Surgeon General Jerome Adams emphasize that it’s not a radical departure from previous variants like Omicron, which dramatically altered the course of the pandemic. Adams, speaking about the ongoing nature of the virus’s evolution, noted, “We’ve been through this literally dozens of times since 2020.”
Adams pointed out the importance of vaccines, saying, “There’s also increasing data out there that shows that you may decrease your chances of long COVID by up to 70% if you have an updated vaccine.” However, he expressed concern about the poor uptake of vaccinations, which are critical for reducing hospitalizations and deaths, as well as preventing long COVID.
XEC, while drawing attention due to its mysterious rise, may not be as dangerous as it seems. Ryan Hisner, a teacher and co-author of several studies on variants, said that XEC’s growth might be due to changes in the nucleocapsid protein, not the famous spike protein. He explained that earlier variants had a truncated nucleocapsid protein, called N*, which allowed efficient virus replication. XEC’s parent, KP.3.3, has a mutation that undoes this, possibly giving it a new edge. told by CBS News.
With approximately 450 Americans dying from COVID in late September, Adams highlighted the need for improved ventilation in shared spaces as a way to prevent future variants from gaining ground, saying, “You get around the controversy of masking and of vaccinations and mandates when you just make the air cleaner for everybody […] I actually call it the biggest missed opportunity of the pandemic.”
Though XEC’s rise is notable, it’s not as alarming as earlier variants. As Adams concluded, this is “a game we know all too well by now.”
