The World Health Organization (WHO) recently said that a new COVID-19 variant that emerged earlier this year is now a “variant under monitoring,” becoming the second COVID-19 variant to get that designation in the past month.
The XFG variant, which is one of many offshoots of the JN.1 strain, was evaluated by WHO to pose a low risk at the global level. Sequences of XFG were first reported in January 2025, the WHO said.
“Currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective to this variant against symptomatic and severe disease. Several countries in the South-East Asia Region have reported a simultaneous rise in new cases and hospitalizations, where XFG has been widely detected,” the U.N. health body said in a June 25 report….