The new COVID variant XEC has been found by UK health experts as they prepare for winter, when cases tend to increase.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has highlighted a slight increase in hospitalisations amid COVID patients recently, with the admission rate at 4.5 per 100,000 people in the week to 6 October, up from 3.7 a week prior.
It is the fourth weekly rise in a row – and this, mixed with the UKHSA finding some XEC cases – has led to plenty of news coverage about the new variant.
It comes as a number of analysts on social media have tipped XEC to become the dominant strain and fuel a winter wave – but is it more of a threat than others?
The reality is that while the UKHSA is urging people to protect themselves from COVID generally, it has not “sounded the alarm” on XEC.
It has acknowledged that people may be concerned about new variants, adding around one in 10 of new cases it has analysed shows XEC lineage.
“Current information doesn’t suggest we should be more concerned about this variant but we are monitoring this closely,” says Dr Jamie Lopez Bernal, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA.
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What we know about XEC
XEC, like many other variants, is a part of the Omicron family.
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It was first found in May, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which says it is a so-called recombinant of two other strains – KS.1.1 and KP.3.3 – meaning that genetic information was exchanged between them to form a third strain, XEC.
In its last COVID update on 9 October, the WHO said XEC was one of only two variants that was showing “increasing prevalence globally” between 19 August and 15 September – but it was still only responsible for a small percentage of cases, with KP.3.3 responsible for almost half of the cases worldwide.
In the UK, XEC was identified in 9.35% of COVID cases in samples taken by the UKHSA between 2 September 2024 and 15 September 2024, while 59.35% were identified as KP.3.3.
What is a variant?
When a virus enters a human cell and replicates itself, it has the potential to produce a mutation that leads to a new variant.
Variants that mutate with an advantage over other variants have the potential to be more dangerous to humans.
During the pandemic, thousands of COVID variants were identified – a large number of them by scientists in the UK.
The vast majority did not prove significant, and some just disappeared.
But, as people continue to be infected, experts say it is likely that the virus will have more opportunity to produce variants that will be able to fight back against our immune responses.
During the pandemic, scientists were concerned that as people develop immunity to one variant, the greater the likelihood that a mutation would occur that sidesteps our defences, and ends up as a more dangerous form of the virus.
What are the symptoms of XEC?
No health organisations have listed any symptoms specific to XEC.
It is said to have the same symptoms as other COVID variants, including:
• a high temperature • a new, continuous cough • a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste • shortness of breath • feeling tired or exhausted • an aching body • a headache • a sore throat • a blocked or runny nose.
Health authorities advise staying at home and avoiding contact with other people if you or your child have symptoms.
How can you protect yourself?
While the UKHSA isn’t sounding the alarm on XEC specifically, it is expecting COVID to circulate more in the winter, along with flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), calling them the “three main winter threats”.
If you are eligible to get vaccinated against them, now is the time to do so, says Dr Bernal.
All adults aged 65 and over are able to receive both the latest COVID booster vaccination and this year’s flu jab, along with residents in older adult care homes and people with underlying health conditions aged six months to 64 years.
Both vaccinations are also being offered to frontline health and social care staff, with employees in older adult care homes eligible for the COVID jab.
The NHS is also offering for the first time a vaccination against RSV, a common cause of coughs and colds, which can be dangerous to older people and young children.
The jab is available to people aged 75 to 79 as well as pregnant women from 28 weeks, to protect their child.
Damien Dalmayne, 17, is autistic. He also battles mental health issues that have left him unable to get out of bed and contemplating harming himself.
Warning: This story contains references to suicide
“There were thoughts of me doing stuff to myself. I never did but there were stages where it would get pretty hard and it really did get to that point that I was really considering it,” Damien says.
His depression spiralled during the COVID lockdowns and when he was 15 he was referred to his local NHS mental health team in Greenwich.
The paediatrician who made the referral recommended that Damien be seen “urgently”.
But Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) rejected the referral, instead referring Damien and his family to a local social services team.
Damien believes he was rejected because of his autism diagnosis.
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“They [CAMHS] think they can’t help people with special needs. They think ‘that’s just a terminal illness’ even though it’s not,” says Damien.
In its rejection letter, Greenwich CAMHS agreed Damien “experiences emotional difficulties”.
But, noting his autism diagnosis, it suggested he see the area’s Children with Disabilities Team, rather than a specialist mental health service.
Crucially, his mother, Emma Dalmayne, says this meant they were unable to access specialist services like therapy to help Damien.
Autism and mental health ‘seen as separate issues’
Ms Dalmayne says a confused social worker called her after Damien’s referral was redirected to their team.
“They said ‘why have we been called?’ I said ‘I don’t know’.”
“CAMHS see autism and mental health as separate for some reason,” says Ms Dalmayne.
“If you’re not well you go to a doctor, you get help. But no, if you’re mentally ill and autistic and go to a doctor, you’re not getting anything. You’re told ‘well we can’t see you because you have a neurological difference’.”
The NHS trust responsible for Greenwich CAMHS said it is unable to comment on individual cases but stressed it does accept referrals for autistic children who have a “severe and enduring mental health need”.
However, it said children may be referred to other services “where referrals do not meet the threshold for CAMHS”.
CAMHS are run by different health trusts throughout the UK.
Image: Ms Dalmayne is campaigning for better access to CAMHS for autistic children
Ms Dalmayne says she has spoken to other parents with autistic children who have had similar experiences.
She says she knows one mother who is scared to tell her local CAMHS that her son has been diagnosed as autistic because she worries they will stop his care.
“It’s not an inclusive world. We don’t feel included at all,” says Ms Dalmayne, who is also autistic.
Damien believes NHS services don’t think autistic people can engage effectively with therapy.
“It’s not like just talking to a wall. They [autistic children] will end up listening and if they can they will end up talking.”
He says his experience with CAMHS left him feeling “inhuman”.
Damien ended up using his disability benefits to pay for private therapy.
“If I had waited probably six months [longer to get therapy], I probably wouldn’t be here. They [CAMHS] really put my health at risk,” he says.
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, which administers Greenwich CAMHS, said: “Currently, just over 16% of our CAMHS caseload includes children and young people with both an autism diagnosis and a severe and enduring mental health need. This does not include children and young people either waiting for or currently being assessed by an autism diagnostic service alongside CAMHS.
“Should individual circumstances change, re-referrals can be made. CAMHS is just one part of a much larger collection of services delivering emotional health and wellbeing support and services to children and young people.”
People with autism more likely to experience mental health issues
Sky News tried to get a clearer picture of autistic children’s access to CAMHS across the UK, but when we requested data from health trusts, the majority did not disclose the number of referrals and rejections for autistic children.
We did learn of the serious pressure facing services nationally, with data showing total referrals to CAMHS had risen by 60% between 2018 and 2023. Rejections from CAMHS were up by 30% across the same period.
While it’s difficult to get a sense of the number of autistic children accessing CAMHS, autistic people are more likely to experience mental health problems than people who aren’t autistic.
Image: Damien says the rejection by CAMHS put his health at risk
Sky News spoke to one CAMHS nurse anonymously – we aren’t identifying the health trust she works for.
She said nationally it’s a mixed picture in terms of the level of care autistic children receive.
“We [CAMHS] certainly don’t do enough for children that have been diagnosed with autism in terms of their post-diagnostic support.”
She says she has witnessed preconceptions about autism among staff that can lead to autistic children not getting the care they need.
Skills ‘aren’t consistent’ across health service
“Some people [working in CAMHS], sometimes might tend to say ‘well it’s [their issues are] because of their autism’ as opposed to thinking well actually they might be autistic but they can also have a mental health difficulty that can be supported,” says the nurse.
“A child that has autism and mental health needs, that’s not going to be solved by social services, they need mental health support.”
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She says skills aren’t “consistent” across the health service and that autistic children can be at a disadvantage if their behaviour means more traditional forms of talking therapy aren’t appropriate.
The nurse continues: “I’ve known it happen where people say ‘oh this person is not engaging’ so they get discharged.
“Sometimes therapy is not always helpful, then it’s about different, more holistic ways to support children and support behavioural changes.
“I do think there’s a need to increase skills within CAMHS absolutely. [Staff] recruitment and retention has been difficult across the board.”
Ms Dalmayne is campaigning for better access to CAMHS for autistic children, her biggest fear is that autistic children and adults are hurting, and even killing themselves, if they can’t access mental health support.
“It makes me feel we’ve got to do everything we can to change it,” she says.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
Sir Keir Starmer will host a virtual meeting of world leaders today to discuss peacekeeping in Ukraine, and he will use the call to say that now is the time for “concrete commitments”, Downing Street has said.
Around 25 leaders are expected to join the call this morning, in which they will discuss in more detail the peacekeeping mission the prime minister has called the ‘coalition of the willing’.
Sir Keir will ask allies to continue to ramp up military support to Ukraine.
He will also say countries need to increase economic pressure on Russia in the short term, and be prepared to support an eventual peace deal over the long term, should an agreement be reached.
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Attendees will also receive an update on the discussions of defence ministers and military chiefs in Paris this week, and they will all set out details of their own efforts to unlock further military support for Ukraine.
Downing Street has confirmed that some European countries, the EU Commission, NATO, Canada, Ukraine, Australia and New Zealand are expected to join the virtual meeting.
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1:27
Is a ceasefire in Ukraine still viable?
Starmer: The world needs to see action
In a statement ahead of the call, the prime minister said: “We can’t allow President Putin to play games with President Trump’s deal.
“The Kremlin’s complete disregard for President Trump’s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace.
“If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious and enduring peace, if they don’t, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war.”
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3:47
Peace ‘must be secure’, PM tells Sky News
He went on to accuse the Russian president of “trying to delay” by “saying there must be a painstaking study before a ceasefire can take place”.
“The world needs to see action, not a study or empty words and pointless conditions,” he continued.
“My message to the Kremlin could not be clearer: stop the barbaric attacks on Ukraine, once and for all, and agree to a ceasefire now. Until then, we will keep working around the clock to deliver peace.”
Sir Keir has said Britain could send peacekeepers to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire deal, but has called on Washington to offer a security ‘backstop’ to those forces.
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2:14
Putin lists ceasefire conditions
Moscow has reportedly also presented a “list of demands” to the US to end the war, which would include international recognition of Russia’s claim to Crimea and four Ukrainian provinces and an agreement that foreign troops not be deployed in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Mr Putin’s remarks were “very predictable” and “very manipulative”, adding that the Russian president was preparing to reject the ceasefire proposal he agreed with the US.
The Russian captain of the Solong container ship involved in the North Sea crash has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter.
Vladimir Motin, 59, of Primorsky, St Petersburg, has been remanded in police custody and is due to appear at Hull Magistrates Court on Saturday, Humberside Police said.
On Monday morning, about 13 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire, the Solong sailed into the US-registered oil tanker Stena Immaculate, which was carrying jet fuel for the US Navy.
One member of the Solong crew is presumed dead. He has been named by the Crown Prosecution Service as 38-year-old Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia.
Image: The MV Solong cargo ship following Monday’s North Sea crash. Pic: AP
Five Russians had been on board the Solong, Russian state agency TASS quoted the Russian embassy in London as saying, Reuters reported.
In the immediate aftermath of the collision, dozens of people were forced to abandon the vessels as they caught fire.
The coastguard rescued 36 crew members after the alarm was raised at 9.48am on Monday.
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The Stena Immaculate, operated by US firm Crowley, was stationary and at anchor while waiting for a berth to become available at the Port of Killingholme, on the River Humber, when it was struck by the smaller Solong, causing huge fires and explosions – the smoke from which was visible from space.
The Solong had been sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands at the time.
It was initially feared it was carrying sodium cyanide but the German owner Ernst Russ said four containers on the vessel had previously been carrying the chemical.
Salvage companies boarded the two vessels on Thursday and were carrying out initial damage assessments. Small fires were still being reported on the Solong’s top deck, the coastguard said.
Image: The US oil tanker MV Stena Immaculate after the collision. Pic: PA
Police said extensive lines of inquiry were continuing but it was taking time given the vessels were still at sea and there were a large number of witnesses.
Frank Ferguson, from the CPS, said: “We have authorised Humberside Police to charge a Russian national in relation to a collision involving two vessels in the North Sea off the east coast of England.
“The Portuguese-registered cargo ship, the Solong, collided with the American-registered oil tanker, the Stena Immaculate, just before 10am on Monday, 10 March 2025.
“Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, died.
“Vladimir Motin, 59, from St Petersburg, Russia, who was the vessel’s captain, is due to be charged with one count of gross negligence manslaughter.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.