COVID-19 variant trackers are now closely watching the rise of a new virus variant called XEC, which has been spotted around the world and in half of states across the United States. Health officials are so far not raising concern about this variant,

The CDC has not confirmed whether there are any unique symptoms from the XEC variant. USA TODAY has reached out to CDC officials for comment. The agency continues to outline the basic COVID-19 symptoms, which can appear between two to 14 days after exposure to the virus and can range from mild to severe.