Covid cases rising in india

Jn.1 strain labeled as ‘variant of interest’ by WHO amid rising Covid cases
JN.1 was a variant of interest in its parent line Ba.2.86 previously.
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Updated: December 20, 2023 09:18

  Covid cases rising in india                              

At least one case of JN.1 has been reported from Kerala, while the number is estimated to be around 15 in Goa so far. (File Photo)
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday that it had designated JN.1, a subvariant of the Covid-19 ancestor BA.2, as a “variant of interest” on its own next to Pirola or BA.286 which is more widely known by this name in some countries but scientifically is just an alternative designation for Batista 3

WHO says a sub-lineage of the variant JN.1 is now being treated as separate from its parent lineagenet BA.2.86, which spreads so fast that it has been upgraded into another VOI on account of how rapidly this mutation was spreading all over South East Asia–as much to the west and northwest through Central Europe (Slov Previously, in Pirola sub-lineages it was regarded as a VOI.

Nevertheless, WHO emphasized that there was no evidence to suggest any increased public health risk from the variant. Yet, even with the arrival of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, JN.1 could add to a heavy load of respiratory disease around much of the world. Moreover, the current vaccines remain effective against severe disease and death due to JN.1.

COVID-19 JN.1 variant: Are booster shots needed to combat surge?
Variants are called VOIs by WHO when they have a growth advantage over other variants that circulate (that is, the proportion of them increases each time cases increase). Even if a variant is not predicted or known to change significant characteristics of the virus such as transmissibility, virulence, antibody evasion or susceptibility to therapy and diagnostics–it can still be designated VOI.