The UK Health Security Agency has stated that the UK is currently witnessing three recombinant variants of COVID, dubbed XE, XF, and XD, apart from the existing cases of Omicron and Delta.
According to the report, the recombinant variants XD and XF are a combination of the previous strains of Delta and BA.1.
It adds that XD has an Omicron S gene as well as a Delta genome, requires biological characterisation. The report adds that XF caused a small cluster in the UK but has not been detected since 15 February 2022.
The report adds that XE, which is a BA.1/BA.2 recombinant shows evidence of community transmission within England, although this accounts for less than 1 percent of total sequenced cases. XE is a recombinant of BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron strains.