What You Need to Know About the New COVID Variant, Omicron XE
Written by Leslie K. Hughes
Medically Reviewed by Dr. Monique White-Dominguez
Though much of the world has found a new sense of “normal” and people are going out to dinner, returning to work, attending events, and more, that doesn’t mean that COVID no longer exists.
It simply means that we have found a way of managing the presence of this virus in our lives that doesn’t require activating full lockdown mode as we did two years ago. However, it’s not time to throw caution to the wind, because COVID is still among us, and, in fact, a new strain has recently emerged that you want to pay attention to.
This new strain of COVID is called omicron XE. This variant is a combination of the initial omicron that hit the scene at the end of 2021 (just in time for the holidays) and the BA.2 strain.
The term used to describe XE is “recombinant,” which means that with this new version, a person can get infected with omicron BA.1 and omicron BA.2 at the same time. This results in a new variant, XE, that is a genetic mix of the two.
The proteins of XE are from the same virus family as the original omicron, which leads scientists to believe that this variant should behave much like the omicron we know.
Is the XE variant of COVID-19 serious?
Because this variant is quite new, there is not a whole lot of data that allows scientists to reach a solid conclusion.
However, the concept of a recombinant variant is common and isn’t something to panic about. The reason that this one is called XE is because XA, XB, XC, and XD have already happened and didn’t have any major issues.
Is the XE variant more transmissible?
The studies that have been done so far on the existing cases in the U.K. show that XE is more transmissible than previous COVID strains. The World Health Organization estimates that it is about 10% more contagious than BA.2.
Is the XE variant more dangerous?
It is important to note that just because this variant is more transmissible does not necessarily mean that it is more dangerous. It may be easier to get, but doesn’t necessarily make you any sicker than previous strains.
However, more information still needs to be gathered about this variant to determine exactly the transmission rate and the effect that will have.
What are the symptoms of XE?
The symptoms of this new COVID variant are, so far, the same as previous variants.
These symptoms include:
Fever
Headache
Body pain
Fatigue
Lethargy
Palpitations
