The side effects of newly discovered COVID strain XEC might not be more severe, but appears to be more contagious, epidemiologist Joëlla W. Adams said

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to evolve, a new variant known as the Covid XEC variant is starting to spread rapidly across Europe, North America, and parts of Asia. First identified in Germany in June,

The XEC variant is a hybrid of the earlier omicron subvariants KS.1.1 and KP.3.3, which is currently dominant in Europe. But XEC’s mutations could help it spread more easily this autumn, experts have told multiple news outlets.