The United Kingdom Health Insurance Agency (UKHSCA) said it was studying XE – a mutation in strains BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron, referred to as “recombinant”. The government said that by March 22, 637 XE cases had been detected in the UK, just a small fraction of the tens of thousands of Covid cases reported daily since the restrictions were lifted. Early growth rates for XE did not differ significantly from BA.2 – also known as “Stealth” Omicron. But using the latest data as of March 16, 2022, it now had a growth rate of 9.8 percent above that of the stealth variant, the UKHSCA reported. Susan Hopkins talks about the new sub-variant (Dan Kitwood / PA) (PA file) The agency warned, however, that “as this assessment did not remain consistent as new data were added, it can not yet be interpreted as an assessment of the growth advantage for recombination”. “The numbers were too small to analyze the recombinant XE by region,” the UKHSCA said. Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said the recombinant variants were not uncommon and usually died “relatively quickly”. “This particular recombinant, XE, has shown a variable growth rate and we can not yet confirm whether it has a real growth advantage,” Ms Hopkins told The Sun. “So far there is not enough evidence to draw conclusions about the contagion, severity or effectiveness of the vaccine.” Covid hospitalization in England on the rise again (PA Graphics) (PA Graphics) The UKHSA report added: “XE shows evidence of Community transmission within the UK, although it is currently less than 1 per cent of the total cases followed.” A record number of people in the UK had Covid last week, according to official figures. The National Statistics Office said one in 13 people – or 4.9 million – had the virus by the week of March 26. This is an increase from 4.3 million last week.
