The UK is on the way to being hit with a fresh wave of Covid cases of as a new dominant strain has skyrocketed over the last six weeks. The new variant known as XFG 鈥 or Stratus 鈥 has seen its share of UK infections shoot up from a measly 1% to a staggering 30% in just six weeks. Bob Hawkins, a data scientist who works with the Independent Sage group of Covid scientists, has warned the increase of the XFG cases could lead to it becoming the dominant strain across the UK. 鈥淧revalence of the XFG COVID variant is increasing and is expected to become the dominant strain over the summer ,鈥 Hawkins warned. The surge places the strain neck and neck with the former dominant variants known as the LP family. The new strain, XFG, is thought to have overtaken those variants to become the UK鈥檚 most common variant over the last three weeks. The news comes alongside data that shows Covid cases have begun to rise recently and are three times as high as they were at the start of last year. Professor Lawrence Young a virologist at Warwick University has also warned: 鈥淴FG is rapidly spreading 鈥淕iven that immunity to COVISD is waning in the population due to a decline in uptake of the spring booster jab and the reduction of COVID infections in recent months, more people will be susceptible to infection with XFG. 鈥淭his could lead to a new wave of infection, but it鈥檚 difficult to predict the extent of this wave.” “The XFG variant was first detected in Canada quickly reaching areas around the world such as India and the UK and accounted for around 25 per cent of COVID cases in May,” the professor said. This new strain of COVID is a 鈥渞ecombinant variant鈥. This means XFG emerged when a person was infected by two different strains of the virus simultaneously 鈥 leading to the virus 鈥渕ixed and matched鈥 its genetic material. This mutation resulted in the virus having two spike proteins 鈥 making it easier for this strain to fight off antibodies produced by the immune system that help fight off infections and diseases. Despite the increase in cases of this new mutated strain in the UK, Professor Young says there is no evidence infection with XFG is any more severe than previous Covid variants. 鈥淧eople who are fully vaccinated, particularly with the updated vaccine, are still very likely to be protected from severe illness and hospitalisation,鈥 Young said. Other experts have called for people to stay resistant against the virus and reminded individuals in vulnerable categories they should take vaccine boosters to top up their protection. 鈥淏ooster uptake is shockingly low amongst those eligible 鈥 around six-in-10 over 75s and only around a quarter of those under 75 with weakened immune systems,鈥 Simon Williams, a behavioural scientist and public health expert at Swansea University said. 鈥淪o there is a significant proportion of those most vulnerable who have not topped up their protection this year. “Covid boosters work in the same way as seasonal flu jabs 鈥 you can鈥檛 just get one flu vaccine and expect to be protected for the long term, as you would with, say, a measles vaccine. 鈥淎nd so, as the virus continues to mutate, with new variants, and as immunity wanes as time passes from last infection or vaccination, people become more vulnerable.”