Respiratory virus season is coming to the northern hemisphere, and with it… flu, colds and COVID-19. The latter, as usual, goes hand in hand with the new variant of the SARS-CoV 2 virus: XEC option. European health authorities have warned that the virus is beginning to spread across the continent and could become the dominant variant this fall. But do we know yet whether this entails any risk?
There’s a lot we don’t know at the moment. It just seems sub-option KS.1.1 and KP.3.3the two most common variants currently in Europe. They are no more dangerous than the rest. They are not much more contagious. The only problem with the emergence of a sub-variant is that our immune system may not have enough protection, so the number of infections in or around the country will increase.autumn and winter.
The positive side is that updated versions of Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax vaccines They provide sufficient protection against XEC. More than natural infection from previous variants. Therefore, it is important that people at risk are vaccinated this season.
The new option is not something strange
Viruses are constantly mutating. This is how they survive and reproduce because they are unable to reproduce themselves. They need to kidnap replication machine cells in which they are located. That is, they have at their disposal all the mechanisms that our cells use for replication.
When they take over this machine, they begin to create many copies of themselves. This is a process in which, logically, errors can occur. These are mutations that can have three effects. Sometimes they get in the way virus survivalin other cases they are beneficial to him, and in many cases they have a neutral effect. The point is that when many of these mutations accumulate, we are faced with a slightly different virus than the previous one. This is when we can talk about a new variant, which in turn can continue to mutate until it becomes a subvariant.
So while we initially shook our heads when we heard about the new options, it’s actually a completely normal procedure. This does not mean that this particular virus is super mutant
In most cases, they pose no risk compared to other options. But there is a difference. Our immune system produces specific antibodies against surface proteins of viruses. Once you are exposed to one of these pathogens, either through natural infection or through vaccines, you are prepared for future exposure. But if the new variant modifies some of these proteins, the immune response may not be as strong.
What do we know about XEC?
The new XEC variant is different from others, but not so much that we do not have the slightest protection through vaccine.
On the other hand, we know that XEC has already reached Great Britain, Denmark, France, Ireland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. In total, it may account for 1% of infections in all of these countries, although in some specific countries, such as Germany, it is as high as 20%.
It’s not widespread yet, but there are infections. increasingly common so this new variant may very soon become dominant. Some reports indicate that this may be due to the fact that he has high throughput relative to other options. But this is not more serious. There has been no increase in deaths or hospitalizations, so it doesn’t look like we need to worry about it.
It’s just important to keep an eye on upcoming vaccination campaigns. Especially the most vulnerable people.
Source: Hiper Textual
