Here's the latest SARS-CoV-2 variant picture for Japan to mid-May. Regrettably, the sample volumes shrank from April onwards, so the picture is uncertain.
The NB.1.8.1 "Nimbus" variant grew during May to 33%. It is probably dominant by now over XEC.*, which was declining.
Here's the latest variant picture for Australia, to early May.
XEC.* has been dominant, but declined to around 32%.
LP.8.1.* has grown to 23%, and XDV.* (driven by NB.1.8.1) grew to 18%.
#COVID19 #Australia #XEC # LP_8_1 #NB_1_8_1 #XDV @auscovid19 
Here's the latest variant picture for the United Kingdom, to late April.
The LP.8.1.* variant has taken over dominance, growing steadily to around 50% frequency.
The XEC.* variant has fallen to around 25%.
#COVID19 #UK #XEC #LP_8_1
Report link:
https://mike-honey.github.io/covid-19-genomes/output/Coronavirus%20-%20Genomic%20Sequencing%20-%20report%20UK.pdf
Here's the latest variant picture for Canada to late April.
The LP.8.1.* variant is now dominant, growing strongly to 56%.
The XEC.* variant has declined to around 18%.
Here's the latest variant picture for Australia, to mid-April.
XEC.* continues to dominate, but declined further to around 30%.
The next challenger now looks like LP.8.1.*, growing a bit faster to around 27%
XDV.*, driven by it’s latest sub-lineage NB.1.8.1, grew to around 19%, and it’s growth rate still looks the fastest.
#COVID19 #Australia #XEC # LP_8_1 #NB_1_8_1 #XDV @auscovid19
Here's the latest variant picture for the United Kingdom, to late April.
The LP.8.1.* variant has taken over dominance, growing steadily to around 50% frequency.
The XEC.* variant has fallen to around 25%.
#COVID19 #UK #XEC #LP_8_1
Report link:
https://mike-honey.github.io/covid-19-genomes/output/Coronavirus%20-%20Genomic%20Sequencing%20-%20report%20UK.pdf
Here's the latest variant picture for Canada to mid-April.
The LP.8.1.* variant is now dominant, growing strongly to 50%.
The XEC.* variant has declined to around 18%.
Here's the latest variant picture for New Zealand, to late April.
DeFLuQE variants continue to dominate at around 50-80%
The LP.8.1.* variant is not offering a sustained challenge.
This is a very unusual picture – in most places XEC.* and/or LP.8.1.* have become dominant.
Here's the latest variant picture for Australia, to mid-April.
XEC.* continues to dominate, but declined quite sharply into around 40%.
The next challenger looks is XDV.*, driven by it’s latest sub-lineage NB.1.8.1, rising to 11%.
Here's the latest variant picture for Australia, to mid-April.
XEC.* continues to dominate, but declined quite sharply in early April to around 40%.
LP.8.1.* variant is still struggling for traction below 20%.
The one to watch is XDV.*, driven by it’s latest sub-lineage NB.1.8.1, rising to 11%.
April 18, 2025.
Monitoring Variant Proportions 3/30/2025 - 4/12/2025
{https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions}
LP8.1 55% => 64% 
#XEC 21% => 15% 
LB1.3.1 3% => 2%
MC 4% = 4%
LT7 4% = 4%
With the LP.8.1.* variant on the way to dominance in most places, it is time to ponder which variant might drive the next wave.
The leading contenders at this point are LF.7.7.2, LF.7.9, NB.1.8.1, NY.9 (new), XEC.25.1, XFG and XFJ.
I show them here using a log scale, so you can compare their growth rates vs the most common LP.8.1.* sub-lineage: LP.8.1.1. Note the recent sample volumes are quite low, so the right side of this chart might not be a representative picture.
