A new COVID-19 variant that comes from two earlier ones, has reached Australia, as experts signal it is likely not one to be more concerned about. In Australia, 329 sequences collected from 26 August to 22 September have been uploaded to AusTrakka, Australia’s national genomics surveillance platform for COVID.

The latest global coronavirus mutation is swiftly spreading in Europe. Will it drive a wave of illness in the U.S.? And do vaccines offer protection?

A new - and potentially more transmissible - variant of COVID could become dominant this winter, experts believe. Global cases of the XEC variant have been rising slowly since it was first identified in Germany in June.

The new Covid variant XEC, more infectious than its predecessors, is rapidly spreading and manifesting intense flu-like symptoms. Originating in Germany, it is now present in various countries including the US and UK.

With the chill of winter upon us, Dr Helen Wall has been sharing vital information about the emerging strain, which could soon become the most dominant yet.The BBC Breakfast doc expressed concern that XEC Covid is "really wiping people out" and noted that its symptoms are increasingly resembling those of common illnesses like flu and colds,