FILE PHOTO: Pfizer company logo is seen at a Pfizer office in Puurs, Belgium, December 2, 2022. / REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo

There is a low rate of vaccination against Covid CD19 variants as a result of vaccine hesitancy. On the other hand, wastewater data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that COVID activity is still "high" or "very high" in 40 states. With the change in weather and fall around the corner, health practitioners encourage people to vaccinate against the new hybrid Covid strain, XEC. 

At an EMS roundtable briefing, a panel of experts answered questions on how we can respond  to this new variant. Dr. Benjamin Newman professor of biology Texas A&M university, Dr. Peter Chin Hong, infectious diseases specialist, University of California, San
Francisco, and Dr.Daniel Turner-Lloveras  co-founder and CEO of Salud con Tech and Latino health innovation alliance highlighted the importance of vaccination against  XEC. 

XEC has emerged in 25 states in the US, and experts predict it will cause a surge of Covid-19 cases this fall. Updated mRNA vaccines — Pfizer and Moderna — are now available, along with the reformulated Novavax. But are the new vaccines able to detect and protect against XEC? 

“Average half life of the vaccine is six months because the virus mutates,” said Dr. Benjamin Newman.  “There are two options among vaccines. The Novavax is a protein vaccine. It is against an older version of the virus, the JN1, a strain that has been now more or less extinct since the summer. JN1 has been replaced by the KP or the FLiRT variant. Two mRNA vaccines are a little more recent and closer in time to the virus that is circulating now,” he said. 

“The other thing to consider," he said, " For many of us it has been two to three years since we have been vaccinated or been sick. Initially, we were not clear how long the white blood cell immunity lasts. Now we are seeing in some people the immunity lasts two or three years. They may need a top up of the vaccine.”

Symptoms and timing the test 

The flu-like symptoms of this new XEC variant are similar to other Covid variants. These sub variants known as FLiRT have been spreading across the US. The CDC estimates that they constitute 80% of the infections in the country. More diverse symptoms include for instance gastrointestinal symptoms along with the usual symptoms of cold-muscle aches, headaches and shortness of breath. 

Time of testing is also important, said Dr. Peter Chin Hong. “If you test too soon you may not have enough viral load to be detected by the test, There may not be enough virus for you to get the correct result because your immune system is active already as most people have had exposure to the virus and your body's reactions kick in quicker than in the past. You feel sicker faster.”

So if at first, you test negative Dr. Hong recommends your test again for Covid. 

Addressing Vaccine hesitancy  

Dr. Peter Chin Hong said, “Every side effect we had imagined of the vaccines actually occurs in the disease except the only difference is that in the disease it is a hundred times worse.” if you did not get the vaccine and you got the COVID-19 infection it would be a huge difference in your symptom severity. 

There are popular lobby groups that are pushing back against the vaccine. “What I have to say is like in the old vampire movies. Don’t invite them into your house first. Then you don’t have to deal with the clean up after,” said Dr Newman. 

“Vaccine hesitancy is one of the top 10 global health threats,” said Dr. Hong. “Sometimes vaccine hesitancy is intertwined with political beliefs.But their views can be changed. Keep talking to people.”

Access, trust and equity in vaccination 

Vaccination hesitancy and weariness explains the low vaccination rates in Latino and Black communities. Information emerging from Florida about the inefficacy of the mRNA vaccines for older adults also doesn’t help the cause of the health community. 

“In communities where transportation access to healthcare is limited, vaccination becomes a challenge. Language barriers make access to information hard. Now that vaccines are no longer free money is also a barrier,” said Dr.Daniel Turner-Lloveras. 

“ Our bilingual volunteers reach out on telephone to the Latino elderly to encourage them to get online to sign up for the vaccine,” said Dr.Daniel Turner-Lloveras. They call on them door-to-door and also send them text and WhatsApp messages in their language. Through virtual Town halls volunteers encourage the seniors to take the vaccine shot and try to debunk the dangers of vaccines that are spread by social media. 

“Once you have your questions answered in the language of your comfort, hesitancy drops,” said Dr.Daniel Turner-Lloveras.

The World Health Organization has not yet classified XEC as a variant, a spokesperson for global virus database GISAID told TODAY.com. Instead, scientists estimate its prevalence by tracking genetic sequences with XEC’s mutations, which are shared to GISAID and Scripps Research’s COVID-19 database,

"It's definitely here but it hasn’t made it to the CDC tracker because not enough cases have been detected."