Over the last few days, a new Omicron variant has been grabbing headlines in Europe and the US. That’s “XEC” - a “recombinant” variant that has parts of its genetic material inherited from two different variants, each which descend from JN.1.

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

The new Covid-19 variant XEC, formed from KS.1.1 and KP.3.3 strains, is spreading quickly in the US and globally. More infectious than previous strain