Over the last few days, a new Omicron variant has been grabbing headlines in Europe and the US. That’s “XEC” - a “recombinant” variant that has parts of its genetic material inherited from two different variants, each which descend from JN.1.

The variant, which first appeared in Berlin in late June, has increasingly seen hundreds of cases in Germany, France, Denmark and Netherlands, according to a report by Australia-based data integration specialist Mike Honey.

A new covid-19 variant called XEC may spread more easily than past variants, but current vaccines are still effective against it