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The fast-evolving coronavirus subvariant JN.1 is now responsible for about a third of new COVID-19 infections in the northeastern US, compared to about 20% of new infections nationwide.
While the public health risk remains low, studies from Columbia University and China show that the subvariant is escaping immunity in many people and could lead to another wave of infections, CNN reports.
The Centers for Disease Control reports that the prevalence of JN.1 has already more than doubled in the US from late November to mid-December, and variant trackers say it will only be weeks before JN.1 is the world's leading coronavirus variant.
Several European countries, including Denmark, Spain, Belgium, France and the Netherlands, have seen exponential growth in the subvariable and increasing hospitalizations with it. Australia, Asia and Canada have also experienced a rapid increase in JN.1, and scientists believe it could be linked to weakened immunity.
Only about 18% of adults had received the latest COVID-19 vaccine as of Dec. 9, and the CDC is advocating for more vaccinations, urging doctors to stress to their patients that it's not too late in the season to get vaccinated yet.
“Fewer people are getting the booster and fewer people are getting Paxlovid,” an antiviral that can reduce the risk of severe COVID symptoms, said Dr. Alex Greninger, assistant director of the Laboratory of Clinical Virology at the University of Washington.
The World Health Organization (WHO) designated JN.1 as a variant of concern on Tuesday because of its “rapidly increasing spread”, but said there was a low additional risk to public health.
Scientists have also noted that the rise in the new subspecies could be linked to increased holiday travel.
“When I just look at the growth curve, it's rising quite sharply and it seems to coincide with the Thanksgiving break in terms of timing,” said Dr. Shishi Luo, who does infectious disease research for the genomic sequencing company Helix.
2023 New York Daily News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
