Eligible groups of people are being urged to come forward for their Covid booster jab this autumn amid concerns that a new highly contagious strain could become dominant in the UK. Experts have warned that the “rapidly spreading” XEC variant could lead to a spike in cases in the coming weeks.
While it has a high transmission rate, it is believed that the booster vaccine should offer a “good level of protection” against XEC.
This is because the updated jab was designed to target the JN.1 variant from which XEC evolved from.
The vaccine alliance Gavi reported: “The campaign for autumn booster in the UK will start in October with an updated vaccine targeting the JN.1 variant, which XEC derives from, assuring a good level of protection against severe illness.”
Booster jabs will be available from October 3 until December 20 this year. They will be offered to those deemed most vulnerable to Covid.
Eligible groups include:
- Over-65s
- People aged between six months and 64 years with health conditions that make them more vulnerable
- People living in care homes for older people
- Frontline health and social-care staff, including in care homes for older people.
The NHS will contact eligible patients directly, but they can also book their own appointments now via the NHS App, GPs, pharmacies, drop-in clinics, or by calling 119.
Anyone also entitled to the flu jab, will be offered this at the same time.
This comes as cases of Covid are rising in the UK again. According to the latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), cases of Covid increased by 31.5 percent in England in just one week.
In the seven days up to September 18, there were 2,213 recorded cases of Covid – an increase of 530 from the week prior.
What is the XEC strain?
The XEC strain was first discovered in Germany and has since been found in 27 countries across Europe, Asia, and North America.
The global case count exceeds 600, including 82 confirmed instances within the UK.
It is thought to be highly transmissible. Experts at Gavi warned: “A new COVID variant is spreading rapidly and could soon become the dominant variant around the globe.”
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They added that it “appears to have a growth advantage over other circulating variants”.
According to Gavi, XEC is the product of a recombination (exchanged pieces of genetic material between two variants) between the KS.1.1 variant and the KP.3.3 variant.
These two parent variants both evolved from JN.1, which was the dominant variant around the world at the start of this year.
Gavi added: “XEC has very similar genetic material to both its parent variants as well other circulating variants, which are mostly derived from JN.1.
“One reason for XEC’s advantage could be the relatively rare T22N mutation (inherited from KS.1.1) combined with Q493E (from KP.3.3) in the spike protein. The spike protein is a critical part of the virus that binds to human cells, enabling the virus to gain entry and start replicating.”
Symptoms of XEC are thought to be similar to other strains of Covid and can include:
- A high temperature or shivering (chills) – a high temperature means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- A new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
- A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling tired or exhausted
- An aching body
- A headache
- A sore throat
- A blocked or runny nose
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhoea
- Feeling sick or being sick.
If you experience symptoms you should, if possible, stay home and avoid contact with others, however, this is no longer mandatory.