Overview

• Sequencing indicates XFG, a recombinant Omicron lineage, now dominates in multiple countries including France, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• French surveillance shows incidence rising from 38 to 49 cases per 100,000 between the second and third weeks of September, adult emergency visits for suspected Covid up 37%, and a little over one in four lab tests returning positive.
• WHO and ECDC list XFG as under surveillance, describing higher transmissibility and some immune escape without evidence of increased severity or excess mortality compared with recent lineages.
• Doctors report mainly cold‑like symptoms such as cough, runny nose and headache with anosmia less common, and experts note antigen tests can miss infections that PCR would detect.
• France will launch combined Covid and influenza vaccinations on 14 October for people 65 and older, pregnant women, those with comorbidities and the immunocompromised, as U.S. wastewater monitoring flags regional hotspots despite low‑to‑moderate overall respiratory activity.