Once again, a new SARS-CoV-2 variant is likely to be the gift many did not want to receive from attending holiday gathering!
You may recall in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was frequent breaking news about each latest variant of the virus (remember Delta and Omicron?). Now that the worldwide public health emergencies have expired, detecting, monitoring, and responding to new variants has become more challenging.
XEC
This newer variant may have been born at the Paris Olympics, or the EURO 2024 soccer tournament. Wherever it arose, it is now worldwide, and has constituted about 17% of SARS-CoV-2 sequences. XEC (a descendant of the original Omicron virus) is closely related to the variants targeted by the latest COVID-19 vaccines, which is great news!
Fortunately, XEC is enough like other variants of the virus that is not expected to cause any worse symptoms or undermine the latest vaccines' ability to prevent hospitalization and severe disease. Updated vaccines are still doing their job, but only about 17% of eligible younger adults have received one, and even fewer children. The proportion of adults aged 65 and older was higher at about 38%. (Vaccination Trends)
While mortality is declining, people are still dying from the disease. Early data from the CDC shows that COVID-19 was listed as the cause or a contributing factor for more than 40,000 deaths so far this year!
I'm healthy and COVID isn't so terrible anymore. Why should I get vaccinated?
To protect those you love and others in the community. Looking forward to visiting with elderly relatives? New infant additions to the family? Others in your life who may have underlying chronic disease? COVID is especially dangerous to older adults and those with compromised immune systems.
Do it for them.
ref: Rubin R. What to Know About XEC, the New SARS-CoV-2 Variant Expected to Dominate Winter’s COVID-19 Wave. JAMA. Published online November 22, 2024. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.24481
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