The new XE variant of COVID-19 has been detected in Canada, following being first discovered in Europe last January.
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“As of April 6, 2022, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is aware of six detections of Omicron’s recombinant line XE in Canada,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement. email forwarded to Global News.
The XE variant combines properties of the BA.1 and BA.2 variant and is considered the hybrid variant of most concern, since no information is yet available on its degree of virulence.
In particular, the scientists are seeking to establish whether this new variant can modify the severity of the disease and its transmissibility, but also whether it has effects on the vaccines and treatments already in place once morest COVID-19.
The transmissibility of the XE variant is slightly higher than that of the BA,2 variant, according to international reports, but other data would be necessary to confirm this. Remember that a hybrid variant develops when a person contracts both strains of the virus at the same time.
- Listen to Geneviève Pettersen’s interview with Dr. Gaston De Serres, medical epidemiologist at the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec, on QUB radio:
