While XEC is not dominant in the United States, it could take hold by the late fall and winter, one health expert said in a newspaper interview.

Another COVID-19 variant is on the rise this fall, hot on the heels of a massive summer surge of the virus. The variant, called XEC, is appearing worldwide. The SARS-CoV-2 virus mutation has also been spotted in at least half of the United States,

The variant, which first appeared in Berlin in late June, has increasingly seen hundreds of cases in Germany, France, Denmark and Netherlands, according to a report by Australia-based data integration specialist Mike Honey.