A new COVID-19 variant spreading overseas is now expected to become the primary strain in the U.S., possibly before the arrival of winter.
The new variant on the rise in Europe right now is called XEC.
UCSF infectious disease specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong said it is much more transmissible than the current variant in the U.S., but he doesn’t expect it to cause more deaths or hospitalizations.
He’s also confident the new COVID vaccine will work against XEC.
"This new variant that’s been described in Europe is very similar in general," he said. "It’s been derived from some of the variants that have been circulating. So it looks in general like that. The vaccine, which is updated, would have a good chance not only at preventing serious disease, hospitalization and death, but to some people it may also lower the chance of infection for a period of time."
Chin-Hong recommends the new COVID vaccine for people who are older or immunocompromised. Even though the shot is available now, Chin-Hong recommends maybe waiting to get it until the start of October so the antibodies peak in the winter when the virus could be most active.
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