Concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus mutation Omicron XEC

According to scientists, a new variant of coronavirus has begun to spread that could soon become the dominant type.

The XEC variant, detected in Germany in June, has also been seen in the UK, US, Denmark and several other countries, and has some new mutations that could lead to its spread in the fall.

Vaccines have been updated to provide better protection against recent variants, but not XEC, which emerged from the Omicron subvariants.

Professor Francois Balloux, director of the Institute of Genetics at University College London, said that although XEC is “relatively more transmissible” than other recent Covid variants, vaccines should still provide good protection.

However, he notes that it is possible that XEC could become the dominant subvariant over the winter.

Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Medicine Institute in California, says the spread of XEC is “just beginning.”

“And it’s going to take a few months for this to really take hold and become a wave. XEC is definitely taking over. It looks like this is the next variant. But it’s going to be months before it’s widespread,” he told the Los Angeles Times.

The symptoms are thought to be similar to a cold or flu: Patients experience high fever, body aches, fatigue, cough or sore throat.

Most people feel better after a few weeks of Covid, but it can take longer to fully recover