New Covid strain JN.1 likely to be around in US through X-Mas holiday season

A new Covid19 virus known in the medical community as JN1 close relative to BA286 is the fastest growing variant in the US according to estimates from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention CDCJN1 was responsible for more than one in five new Coronavirus cases in recent weeksWe continue to see this Covid virus change CDC Director Mandy Cohen said during an event recentlyIn August of this year we probably saw one of the larger changes to the Covid virus at that time and what weve seen lately in the last couple of weeks is an offshoot of that August variantThe August variant Cohen referred to is BA286 also known as Pirola When the strain emerged organisations like the CDC and the WHO were warning that its high number of mutations made it one to watch But now it appears that JN1 could be more of a problem media reports saidJN1 is very similar to Pirola Even though BA286 and JN1 sound very different because of the way variants are named there is only a single change between JN1 and BA286 in the spike protein the CDC said in a recent update on the strainThe new strain was first detected in the US in September Since then it has grown to represent an estimated 15 to 29 per cent of new infections according to CDC data The agency expects that JN1s prevalence in the US will continue to increase US News amp World Report observedCovid19 tests and treatments are expected to work on JN1 So far it doesnt appear to cause more severe disease but it does seem to have advantages over the other strainsThe continued growth of JN1 suggests that it is either more transmissible or better at evading our immune systems the CDC saidDespite this the CDC assesses that at this time there is no evidence that JN1 presents an increased risk to public health relative to other currently circulating variantsAs of now its not known if JN1 causes different symptoms from other strainsIn general symptoms of Covid19 tend to be similar across variants the CDC saidThe types of symptoms and how severe they are usually depend more on a persons immunity and overall health rather than which variant causes the infectionThe updated Covid19 shot is expected to offer protection against JN1The good news is even with the changes that have come in the last several weeks the updated vaccine is still good coverage for that based on lab studies Cohen said about the latest strainsVaccine expert Peter Hotez called JN1 a bad strain noting its high transmissibility and immune escape capabilitiesThis new XBB annual immunisation that became available this September should offer some cross protection to keep you out of the hospital Hotez said on social mediaUptake of the shot however has been low as only 17 per cent of adults and nearly eight per cent of children have rolled up their sleeves for it according to national survey dataAnd Covid19 metrics are on the rise New hospital admissions have been increasing for a month surpassing the peak numbers during the late summer wave The CDC warned that JN1s rapid growth compared to other strains raises a question Could it drive an increase in infectionsRight now we do not know to what extent JN1 may be contributing to these increases or possible increases through the rest of December like those seen in previous years the agency saidCDC will closely monitor Covid19 activity and the spread of JN1This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever