The latest strain of the COVID-19 virus, XEC, is circulating across the country.
The new variant has been reported in at least 25 U.S. states, according to data from the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS), as WebMD reported.
Some of the states with the highest cases — 10 or more each — include California, New Jersey and Virginia, the data showed.
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As of Friday, the variant is not yet being tracked by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the World Health Organization (WHO).
XEC represents a shuffling of two descendants of last year’s JN.1 strain, according to an infectious diseases expert. (iStock)
KP.3.1.1 is still considered the “predominant variant” of the virus, according to the CDC’s website.
Jake Glanville, PhD, an infectious diseases expert and CEO of Centivax in San Francisco, California, told Fox News Digital that XEC represents…