New COVID Variant Emerges as More Americans Express 'Vaccine Fatigue'
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The XEC variant of COVID-19 may soon become the dominant strain, as around half of people say they will skip the COVID-19 vaccine this year.
XEC Variant: The XEC variant was discovered in Germany in June and has since spread to at least 15 countries and 12 U.S. states. The variant stems from the Omicron family and features similar symptoms, but is more contagious.
Vaccine Fatigue: A poll found that 43% of respondents plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine this year, and 37% who have gotten vaccines and flu shots in past years plan to skip this year. Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, said that COVID-19 vaccination rates are a little lower than the flu, which could be due to a lack of clarity about how to treat COVID-19 post-pandemic. "It’s also fatigue due to the COVID vaccines not being particularly effective at preventing symptoms, which causes people to believe that they are not effective (although they do protect against severe illness)," he added.
For Context: Seventy percent of the U.S. population is considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of May 2023. According to the CDC, there is a 16.6% test positivity rate for COVID-19 in the past two weeks.
How the Media Covered It: Outlets on the left and center have focused on the spread of the XEC variant, while the right has covered it less. Fox News (Right bias) instead focused on vaccine fatigue, but did mention the new variant in passing.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Mapped: All the cases of new Covid variant XEC reported in Europe so far
A new Covid variant has been reported across the globe with fears it will soon be the dominant strain of the illness.
Cases of the XEC variant, first detected in Germany in June, have since been reported in the UK, US, Denmark and other countries. Experts say the strain is now “taking charge” and will likely continue to spread globally.
The strain has been detected in at least 15 countries and 12 US states, according to Scripps Research’s Outbreak.info page which tracks data from the global initiative on sharing all influenza data...
From the Center
New XEC Covid variant starting to spread
People have started catching a new Covid variant that could soon take off and become the dominant type, according to scientists.
Identified in Germany, in June, cases of the XEC variant have since emerged in the UK, US, Denmark and several other countries, say users on X, formerly known as Twitter.
It has some new mutations that might help it spread this autumn, although vaccines should still help prevent severe cases, experts say.
From the Right
'Vaccine fatigue' blamed as roughly half of people in US will skip COVID and flu shots this year
A growing number of U.S. adults are hesitant to get recommended vaccines this fall, a new survey found.The poll, which included 1,006 people, found that only 43% of respondents have gotten or plan to get the COVID vaccine.Only a slight majority (56%) of adults said they have gotten or plan to get the flu shot this fall.COVID VACCINE DISTRUST GROWING AMONG AMERICANS, SURVEY FINDS: ‘SHOULD BE A PERSONAL CHOICE’The poll also found that 37% of those who have gotten vaccines in past years plan to skip the shots this season....
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