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The rapid growth of the coronavirus subvariant JN.1 during the holiday season could fuel winter waves of illness in the United States and beyond, public health authorities warn.
JN.1 caused nearly half of new U.S. coronavirus infections in the two weeks leading up to Christmas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. The World Health Organization on Dec. 19 declared JN.1 a variant of interest “due to its rapidly increasing spread,” from 3 percent of global cases in early November to 27.1 percent a month later.
The timing concerns experts because JN.1 appears to be spreading efficiently in a period when coronavirus usually surges as people travel for the holidays and stay indoors. Covid hospitalizations and coronavirus wastewater levels are rising in the United States.
Coronavirus is constantly evolving into forms that are more transmissible or more adept at infecting people who were vaccinated or previously infected. Those attributes help variants outcompete others in circulation and fuel waves of infection. But the scenario scientists have dreaded has yet to materialize in the last two years: a highly contagious variant far deadlier than the ones before it.
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Officials say there’s no evidence JN.1 poses a significant public health threat by causing more severe illness. But it might explain why you hear about a lot more people getting covid again.
Here’s what to know about JN.1.
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What is JN.1?
JN.1 was first reported in August. It evolved from variant BA.2.86, a descendant of omicron, the variant of the coronavirus that wreaked havoc in early 2022. BA.2.86 did not spread widely, but it worried experts because it had dozens of mutations on its spike protein. JN.1 is very similar with an additional spike protein mutation.
That’s concerning because the spike protein acts like a key to enter a cell, and vaccines train the body to reinforce the locks. When the spike protein morphs into a much different foe, it’s harder for neutralizing antibodies to recognize it and fight it off. But those antibodies are just the first line of defense, and other parts of the immune system can still fight the virus and reduce the severity of infection.
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Jesse Bloom, a computational biologist who monitors coronavirus variants at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, said it’s too early to say whether JN.1 would cause surges in infections and hospitalizations.
“In the past, new variants often increased cases and hospitalizations,” Bloom wrote in an email. “But there is now much more population immunity due to prior infections and vaccinations, so it’s unclear whether or not JN.1 will have a similar impact.”
The WHO does not expect JN.1 to bring a significant additional public health risk based on available evidence. Its overall risk evaluation of the variant is “low.”
The CDC offered a similar tempered assessment, stressing “it’s important to know that existing vaccines, tests, and treatments still work well against JN.1.”
What are JN.1’s symptoms?
It is not known whether JN.1’s symptoms differ significantly from other variants, and there is no indication it is more severe, according to the CDC.
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“The types of symptoms and how severe they are usually depend more on a person’s immunity and overall health rather than which variant causes the infection,” the agency said.
General covid-19 symptoms include fever, chills, coughing, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC.
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Do vaccines offer protection against JN.1?
The CDC recommends getting an updated coronavirus vaccine to increase protection against JN.1. The agency said existing coronavirus tests, treatments and vaccines are expected to work against the variant, similar to the way they work against others. The recommended vaccines in the United States are those from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax.
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Research published in early December that has not been peer-reviewed showed the updated vaccine formula still boosted virus-neutralizing antibodies against JN.1 and other emerging variants it was not specifically designed to target. But JN.1 was the most resistant to antibodies; that resistance compared with other variants makes it easier for it to become dominant.
Public health officials say the primary purpose of vaccines is to prevent severe illness, and the updated vaccine is still expected to soften the blow of a JN.1 infection.
Where is JN.1 spreading?
JN.1 has been recorded in 41 countries. The nations with the largest proportion of JN.1 cases are France, the United States, Singapore, Canada, Britain and Sweden, according to the WHO.
It appeared in the United States in September and is now the most common variant in the country. The CDC estimated JN.1 accounted for 44 percent of U.S. cases in the two-week period ending Dec. 23, surging from 21 percent of cases in the two-week period ending Dec. 9. The agency estimates JN.1 accounts for more than half of recent cases in a region including New York and New Jersey.
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Experts are watching whether the variant will exacerbate the usual end-of-year covid wave.
“It’s coming at the same exact time in which our social networks are expanding as we travel and visit with people we don’t normally see,” said Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist who publishes a public health newsletter, Your Local Epidemiologist.
JN.1 might be another reason to consider taking additional precautions during the respiratory virus season, such as masking at airports, getting vaccinated, testing before seeing older relatives and keeping windows open for gatherings when the weather outside isn’t too frightful.
“I don’t think it means we need to cancel our holidays,” Jetelina added. “It certainly isn’t going to be a tsunami like we saw with omicron. It’s just less than optimal timing.”
What is a variant of interest?
The WHO designation “variant of interest” is applied to variants of the coronavirus that appear to be growing faster than others and that have genetic changes that are predicted or known to affect virus characteristics. These could include transmissibility, virulence, antibody evasion, susceptibility to therapeutics and detectability.
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The designation triggers responsibilities for the WHO and its member states related to monitoring and gathering and sharing information.
It is less serious than “variant of concern,” which is applied to strains that are more severe, cause a substantial burden on the health system, or that vaccines are less effective against. These have Greek letter names such as delta and omicron.
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Understanding the Article
The article discusses the rapid growth of the coronavirus subvariant JN.1 during the holiday season and its potential impact on winter waves of illness in the United States and beyond. It highlights the concerns raised by public health authorities regarding the spread of JN.1, its characteristics, symptoms, vaccine protection, global spread, and the implications for public health. Let's delve into each concept mentioned in the article.
JN.1: A Variant of Interest
What is JN.1?
- JN.1 is a subvariant of the coronavirus that has rapidly increased in spread, causing nearly half of new U.S. coronavirus infections in the two weeks leading up to Christmas. It evolved from variant BA.2.86, a descendant of omicron, with additional spike protein mutations.
- The spike protein mutations are concerning as they may affect the virus's ability to enter cells and evade neutralizing antibodies [[1]].
Symptoms of JN.1
- It is not known whether JN.1's symptoms differ significantly from other variants, and there is no indication that it causes more severe illness [[2]].
Vaccine Protection
- The CDC recommends getting an updated coronavirus vaccine to increase protection against JN.1. Existing coronavirus tests, treatments, and vaccines are expected to work against the variant, similar to how they work against others [[3]].
Global Spread
- JN.1 has been recorded in 41 countries, with the United States, France, Singapore, Canada, Britain, and Sweden having the largest proportion of cases. In the United States, JN.1 is now the most common variant, accounting for a significant percentage of recent cases [[4]].
Variant of Interest
- The World Health Organization (WHO) designated JN.1 as a variant of interest due to its rapidly increasing spread. This designation triggers responsibilities for monitoring and gathering and sharing information about the variant [[5]].
In summary, JN.1 is a rapidly spreading subvariant of the coronavirus, raising concerns about its potential impact on public health. While there is no evidence that it poses a significant public health threat by causing more severe illness, it is essential to monitor its spread and take necessary precautions.
If you have further questions or need more information on any specific aspect, feel free to ask!