XFG is a variant of the well-known 2020 virus: Covid-19. This variant inherited its current name due to the place it originally got discovered: Snohomish County, Washington. Although the percentage of positive tests have surged to around 7% in September, the UK Health Security Agency notes that no data shows this variant is causing more severe illnesses than any other going around.
GOV.uk reports that Dr Alex Allen, Consultant Epidemiologist at UKHSA, informed that "While COVID-19 activity has shown some recent increases, cases remain at low levels in the UK." Therefore, there is no alarm bell going off, signalling that we should all be at home and stocking up some food and toilet paper.
The importance of dealing with the XFG virus is to treat it as any other. I argue it depends on each person themselves how involved they want to be, indicating what measures do you yourself want to take in order to be safe. As any other virus, keeping your distance might protect you from a cough or feeling ill a week later.
Adding on to this, consider your environmental conditions as well. As students, the chances of getting a non-harmful flu are higher, due to Fresher's Flu circulating around and the interaction with numerous, different people during your daily routine. Note that this doesn't imply that you should keep 15-foot distance from those around you, nor panic whenever you feel a cough coming up. I do would like to emphasise to be mindful and consider each situation you find yourself in.
Nonetheless, you might be someone who is not bothered by being ill, and proceed to attend parties or meetings, as you are convinced it strengthens the immune system. I would like to note that not everybody shares that opinion.
Protecting yourself from a virus, also includes taking care those around you.
Ultimately, remember that in order to protect yourself and those close to you, stay au courant with the news and find recourses yourself. As the NIH writes, "stay updated with vaccination when eligible and seek timely care when at higher risk", this offers a first step to be more aware of the American Covid situation. Dealing with a virus responsibly is not only about protecting yourself, but also about protecting those around you.
If you would like to know more about this year's flu season, check out GOV.uk or the UK's Health Security Agency blog on American Covid.