The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified, due to its rapid spread, the JN.1 coronavirus variant as a variant of interest (VOI) separate from the original BA.2.86 lineage, however available evidence shows that the risk contribution to global public health that it poses is currently considered low.
“With the arrival of winter in the northern hemisphere, JN.1 could increase the burden of respiratory infections in many countries,” warns the WHO in a published report, noting that it is continually monitoring the evidence and will update the risk assessment. JN.1 as necessary.
According to the report, JN.1 “may possess some antigenic advantage in evading prior immunity,” although there are “no additional risks to public health relative to other omicron descendant lineages currently circulating.”
In addition, the organization details that “there is a rapid increase in JN.1 infections in Europe and a probable increase in cases, but the limited evidence available does not suggest that the severity of the associated disease is greater compared to other variants” .
According to data provided by the WHO, JN.1 is already present in 41 countries “which represents 27.1% of the sequences available worldwide”. Furthermore, it details that the prevalence of JN.1 increased from 10.9% to 45.5% in France, from 2.1% to 19.9% in the United States, and from 1.4% to 72.7% in Singapore. , from 1.0% to 9.9% in Canada, from 1.8% to 20.4% in the United Kingdom and from 1.8% to 22.9% in Sweden.
Likewise, the WHO confirms that current vaccines continue to protect against serious illness and death from JN.1 and other circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2, although it does reiterate that this pyrola mutation spreads more. He also emphasizes that the mutation is not more dangerous for older people.
On the other hand, the organization remembers that covid-19 is not the only respiratory disease that circulates, since flu, RSV and common childhood pneumonia are on the rise.. For this reason, he advises people to take steps to prevent serious infections and illnesses using all available tools.
These include wearing a mask when in crowded, closed or poorly ventilated areas and keeping a safe distance from others; cover coughs and sneezes; wash your hands regularly; stay up to date on Covid-19 and flu vaccines, especially if you are at high risk for severe illness; stay home if you are sick and get tested if you have symptoms or have been exposed to someone with covid-19 or the flu.