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The XEC COVID-19 variant is spreading across the United States

The XEC COVID-19 variant is spreading across the United States

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A new variant of COVID-19 is spreading in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“CDC is monitoring the XEC variant,” Rosa Norman, a CDC spokeswoman, told USA TODAY. “XEC is the proposed name of a recombinant or hybrid of the closely related Omicron lineages KS.1.1 and KP.3.3.”

The variant, which first emerged in Berlin in late June, has increasingly seen hundreds of cases in Germany, France, Denmark and the Netherlands, according to a report from Australia-based data integration specialist Mike Honey.

The CDC's Nowcast data tracker, which displays COVID-19 estimates and projections for two-week periods, found that the KP.3.1.1 variant accounted for 57.2% of positive infections, followed by XEC at 10.7% in the two weeks from September. 29 and ends October 12th.

Here's everything you need to know about the XEC variant and the latest CDC data.

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What are the most common COVID variants circulating in the United States?

The CDC's Nowcast data tracker shows the following strains are in the top 10 most dominant variant shares:

Can't see the table? Click here to view.

More: FDA approves first home test for COVID-19 and flu that doesn't require a prescription

Map of current viral activity levels in COVID-19 wastewater

Note: Typically, wastewater data is updated weekly and published data reflects the previous week's results. However, it may take up to five days to a week for results to be posted online. Therefore, the data from October 5th is considered the most recent data.

The CDC's National Wastewater Surveillance System tests and monitors wastewater for viruses and bacteria so communities can act quickly to prevent the spread of infections. Wastewater data can provide:

  • A community perspective on the diseases prevalent locally
  • An early warning that the infection rate in a community is increasing or decreasing
  • An efficient and simple approach that does not require a visit to the doctor or a test for an infectious disease
  • Data for communities where patients cannot always be tested for infectious diseases.

Here is a map of the states and territories that have reported viral activity levels in wastewater. The data was released on October 10th.

Can't see the map? Click here to view.

Here is a breakdown of the data shown in the map of states and territories that have reported viral activity levels in wastewater:

  • Very high: Two states
  • High: 14 states
  • Moderate: 11 states
  • Low: 15 states
  • Minimal: seven states; a territory
  • No data: a state; a territory

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