A new strain of the COVID-19 virus, known as XEC, has been identified in at least 25 states across the United States. While not yet officially tracked by the CDC or WHO, XEC is making its presence known in states like California, New Jersey, and Virginia, with 10 or more cases reported in each.
Despite the rise of XEC, the predominant variant in the U.S. remains KP.3.1.1, according to the CDC. XEC is a mutated strain resulting from a recombination of two descendants of last year's JN.1 strain.
