A new subvariant of corona virus under the name XEC it is expanding rapidly in Europe, although it has not yet appeared in Greece.
EINAP President Matina Pagoni, speaking to MEGA, noted that the new subvariant of the coronavirus has begun to spread progressively in America and Europe, which is attracting the attention of health authorities around the world.
This new subvariant that has alarmed the medical community was first detected in Germany and cases have since been detected in the Netherlands, but also in other parts of Western Europe. Scientists are keeping a close eye on the XEC subvariant as they believe it will eventually become the new dominant variant.
An American doctor who spoke to the Los Angeles Times about XEC said it was “just getting started” and could take several weeks or months before it dramatically impacts the number of cases already recorded.
It started in May in Germany
Mrs. Pagoni, speaking about the new subvariant, said that in Germany the FLiRT subvariant is about to disappear and the new XEC is coming. “The Germans are alarmed, this subversion started there in May. It has not yet come here,” she added.
And he went on to clarify that “here we still have FLiRT, it’s not the new one. His throat closes, he has a fever.”
“Because in Germany there is always panic, we are calm and we will face it”, concluded Mrs. Pagoni.
The EINAP president reassured about the cases registered so far in Greece, as the symptoms are mild, while she said that the group that bothered them were basically those with pre-existing diseases, who, taking antiviral drugs, were doing well.
FLiRT Retreat
The latest EODY report notes a slight decline in coronavirus circulation, with 27 deaths in the seven days from September 2 to 8, compared to an average of 12 deaths per week in the previous period.
The percentage of samples testing positive for Covid-19 is also decreasing, as are intubations, which were limited to 8, compared to an average of 12 per week in the previous period.
An increase in viral load was recorded in wastewater from four of the ten cities examined, according to the following table:
Mutations and vaccine
Last month, professor of pulmonology at the Faculty of Medicine of Crete, Nikos Tzanakis, spoke to the daily TA NEA about mutations and vaccines, saying that “Any new mutation usually bypasses the sterilizing immunization. That is, what one would expect from the vaccine does not happen: not getting infected and not getting sick.”
However, as he points out, “fortunately the core of immunization remains, namely avoiding negative outcomes such as intubation and death.”
He then clarifies that there are no studies that demonstrate that the effectiveness of the vaccine increases with frequent vaccination – e.g. every six months. Therefore, unscheduled vaccination, i.e. additional vaccination beyond the annual one, is so far at least devoid of scientific evidence.
Regarding the question of whether an updated dose given in October could protect throughout the year, Tzanakis notes that ‘the updated dose should be targeted to people with a specific age group and specific chronic conditions as our experience so far has shown ‘have a strong component in the development of severe disease.’
Vasilakopoulos: The mutations will be permanent
The new subvariant that has shocked the European scientific community comes to recall the warnings of the professor of Pulmonology – Intensive Care at the University of Athens, Theodoros Vasilakopoulos, that “the pandemic is over but this does not mean that the coronavirus has completely disappeared”.
The well-known pulmonologist explained that we have now entered an endemic phase in which the coronavirus has flare-ups and recessions. “The virus will continue to change, this with mutations will continue to happen because this virus must find a host to survive, that is, a human being to live in, it cannot live elsewhere. So it will constantly change and become more contagious,” he said a month ago speaking to MEGA.
As for updated vaccines and their ability to protect against the latest mutations, Vasilakopoulos notes that those in circulation today “cover a very significant percentage of serious diseases.”