Although rates of new COVID infections have fallen since the summer’s surge, there’s a new variant in town, gearing up to fuel winter illnesses. There’s a new vaccine as well, though uptake has been slow so far.

COVID XEC variant has been confirmed in 27 countries in Europe, North America and Asia, according to data specialist Mike Honey, as the strain grows.

XEC variant was first detected in Germany in June and has since been found in countries such as the UK, the US, Denmark, and others