Why you don’t need to panic about the new Covid variant ‘XE’ –

Experts say that a new version of the Omicron Covid variant detected in the UK is nothing to worry about.

The XE variant is a combination of the BA.1 Omicron strain, which caused major outbreaks worldwide in late 2021, and the “hidden” BA.2 variant, which virologists say is more contagious than before.

British authorities have seen around 640 cases of the subspecies, with preliminary data showing it may be 10% more contagious than BA.2.

However, experts do not believe the variant is more severe or vaccine resistant than other Omicron varieties.

Professor Francois Balloux, a geneticist at University College London, said the strain is likely to follow a similar path to the ‘long-forgotten’ Delta AY.4.2 lineage, which has caused fear in Britain but has never appeared elsewhere.

and Dr. “There’s no reason to be excited,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.

Professor Francois Balloux (pictured), a geneticist at University College London, said the strain would follow a similar path to the “long-forgotten” Delta AY.4.2 lineage that has caused fear in Britain, but has since happened nowhere else.

Professor Balloux wrote on social media: “XE is not a form of anxiety.

‘It is one of many Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 recombinants.

Therefore, no matter how successful it is, it will remain an Omicron highlight. Delta counted more than 200 of these bottom lines before replacing Omicron.

“At this stage, the status of the XE is largely in line with the long-forgotten Delta AY.

Dr. Rasmussen added: “XE is not a Greek letter denoting a new type of therapy.

“XA is a fifth ommicron recombinant identified after XB, XC and XD.

“Keep taking precautions for Ommicron, you don’t have to worry about another big bathroom…but still.”

According to the UK Health Safety Agency, the first case of the XE variant was discovered in January.

By March 22, it had detected 637 cases.

Professor Susan Hopkins, UKHSA Chief Medical Officer, said: “Recombinant variants are not an uncommon phenomenon, especially when many variants are in circulation during the pandemic and many have been identified so far.

‘As with other variant species, most die relatively quickly. This particular recombinant, XE, showed a variable growth rate and we cannot yet confirm whether this has a real growth advantage.

“So far there is insufficient evidence to draw conclusions about the infectivity, severity or efficacy of the vaccine.

“UKHSA will continue to closely monitor the situation on a regular basis, along with all data on SARS-CoV-2 variants, both in the UK and internationally.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) believes the new strain is ten percent more contagious than the latent strain, making it the most contagious version of the virus known.

WHO is not very concerned about the recombinant variant at this time.

“XE belongs to the Omicron variant until significant differences in transmission and disease characteristics, including severity, are reported,” the agency said in a weekly epidemiological report.

“WHO continues to closely monitor and evaluate the public health risk associated with recombinant variants, along with other SARS-CoV-2 variants, and will provide updates as more evidence becomes available.”

It’s not the first recombinant to appear in recent months, and previous versions haven’t had much of an impact.

The CDC has announced that the “hidden” variant (pink) now accounts for 72% of active COVID-19 cases in the United States.

Health officials aren’t really worried about XE, and America will likely be able to control it due to high vaccination rates. Pictured: A woman in Chelsea, Massachusetts receives an injection of the Covid vaccine

Omicron’s XE variant, a combination of strains BA.1 and BA.2, currently accounts for 1% of cases in the UK. It has not been detected in any other country. Pictured: A woman in Jericho, New York, undergoes a Covid test

Earlier this year, the “Deltacron” variant, a combination of Omicron and Delta, was discovered worldwide.

Like XE, it was first detected in the United Kingdom, and very few cases were eventually sequenced in the United States.

Under the influence of Omicron, both BA.1 and BA.2, Deltacron failed to impress the nation.

Such combinations of different viruses can occur under these conditions in a process called viral recombination.

The coronavirus is made up of genetic material called RNA, and in order to reproduce, it must force the body to read this RNA and make exact copies of it.

When this happens, mistakes are inevitable because it happens so fast and often, and natural processes are imperfect.

If two viruses are in the same place at the same time and they are both being replicated by the same cells, there is a possibility of RNA genes entanglement, just as if someone immediately drops two decks of cards and there may be a mistake in them, there is a possibility of RNA genes entanglement. .I collected them all.

However, there is no guarantee that such a new version will be more harmful or lethal than its parents.