Cases of the latest JN.1 Covid-19 variant are continuing to rise, with new infections increasing by 52% during the 28 days leading up to the end of the year, says the World Health Organisation (WHO), describing it as a “variant of concern” (VOC).
In the United States, JN.1 accounts for more than 60% of Covid cases, reports Health Policy Watch, with experts saying the pandemic “is far from over”.
JN.1 is a derivative of the BA.2.86 Omicron subvariant, but with more than 30 mutations. Israeli variant trackers first discovered it in August, and the WHO first spoke about JN.1 in October, when it called it a variant “to keep a close eye on”.
Last month, it had named JN.1 a “variant of interest” (VOI) before now renaming it the more serious VOC.
Although many people are carrying the virus and US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) data show that Covid hospital admissions in America have continued to increase over the past two months, it has not caused the same surge as seen with Omicron.
This is also the case in other countries, including Israel where it was first discovered. Israel was seeing 10 to 20 cases of severe Covid in hospitals on any given day, compared with 1 400 two years ago. At the same time, studies are starting to show that the updated Covid vaccines developed by Pfizer, Moderna and others are eliciting antibodies against JN.1 – at least in vitro.
Evaluating JN.1, and what to ask
With a new variant,
Is it more transmissible?
JN.1 is more transmissible “because it is rising to the top of the charts very quickly”. At the beginning of November, JN.1 accounted for between 5% and 8% of all US cases. Today it is the most common variant.
Can it evade vaccines?
Studies show that the vaccine works as long as people are newly inoculated. Recommendation: jabs for immuno-compromised people with pre-existing medical conditions and over 75s.
Does it cause more severe disease?
No evidence JN.1 has caused more severe diseases so far, and no evidence it will. This is true in the countries currently experiencing a rise in the variant, and also from data in Singapore and other countries where JN.1 has been the predominant variant for longer.
Antiviral drugs like Paxlovid and Remdesivir continue to work to curtail the severity of the virus.
Covid-19: ‘a new era’
