What we know so far about XE, the coronavirus variant detected in UK

Coronavirus: The UK has reported over 600 cases of the XE variant. (Representative image)

The World Health Organization has flagged the emergence of a new coronavirus variant XE– a hybrid of the BA.1 and BA.2 variations of Omicron.

The variant was detected in the United Kingdom in January, the global health agency said in its weekly epidemiological update.

“>600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since,” the World Health Organization added. “Early-day estimates indicate a community growth rate advantage of ~10% as compared to BA.2, however this finding requires further confirmation.”

WHO added that it continues to closely monitor recombinant variants and will issue updates when it has more evidence.

UK’s Health Security Agency also said that at present, there is not enough evidence to draw conclusions about the properties of the XE variant.

“This particular recombinant, XE, has shown a variable growth rate and we cannot yet confirm whether it has a true growth advantage,” the agency’s chief medical advisor Susan Hopkins said. “So far there is not enough evidence to draw conclusions about transmissibility, severity or vaccine effectiveness.”

Hopkins added that it was not unusual for recombinant variants to emerge. “Particularly when there are several variants in circulation, and several have been identified over the course of the pandemic to date. As with other kinds of variant, most will die off relatively quickly.”

The official said that her agency will continue to monitor the situation closely “as we do all data relating to SARS-CoV-2 variants both in the UK and internationally”.

Across the world, COVID-19 has caused 49 crore infections, according to the Johns Hopkins University. Over 61 lakh people have died of the disease.