Do the new COVID-19 vaccines include protection from the XEC variant?
CTV
The XEC strain, a hybrid of Omicron subvariants KS.1.1 and KP.3.3, was first detected in Canada in mid-August and the number of COVID-19 cases with the XEC variant has rapidly increased.
We're in the middle of flu season, and a new variant of COVID-19 is making its way through Canada.
The XEC strain, a hybrid of Omicron subvariants KS.1.1 and KP.3.3, was first detected in Canada in mid-August and the number of COVID-19 cases with the XEC variant has rapidly increased.
According to the most recent data from Health Canada, the proportion of positive cases with the XEC variant as of Oct. 13 was 18.9 per cent, up from just 3.1 per cent of cases on Sept. 1. The strain with the most cases is the Omicron KP.3.1.1 variant, which accounts for 48.4 per cent of all COVID-19 cases.
Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at Toronto General Hospital, says a virus mutating into different variants is normal.
"We've seen multiple variants through the last almost five years," Bogoch said. "It just means the virus is changing as expected. I think if people are wondering what does this actually mean, it's always difficult to predict the future. But this upcoming winter is likely going to look very similar to last winter from a COVID-19 standpoint."
Health Canada approved Pfizer-BioNTech's updated COVID-19 vaccine in September, which is now available for use across the country.
However, it was developed before the XEC variant hit the general public.
