WASHINGTON (TND) — There’s a new subvariant of the coronavirus coming ahead of holiday plans.
The U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)The U. S. Department of Agriculture reported earlier this month that the JN. 1 subvariant accounts for between 15 and 29 cases in the U. S. and most in the Northeast.
An increase in numbers suggests that JN. 1 is more transmissible or more effective at evading our immune systems, the CDC reported. However, there is no evidence that it causes more severe illness than other variants.
The COVID-19 virus is constantly mutating, like any other virus, and the CDC has been tracking JN.1 since August. Previously classified with BA.2.86, or Pirola, a descendent of the omicron virus, scientists noted there has been “no indication of increased severity.”
The World Health Organization on Tuesday classified JN. 1 as an “interesting variant,” but added that it poses a huge risk to public health.
“Based on the available evidence, the additional global public health risk posed by JN.1 is currently evaluated as low,” according to a statement from WHO.
The company continues to insist that existing vaccines can counteract severe illness and death caused by JN. 1 and other circulating variants.
It is not currently known if JN.1 produces different symptoms from other variants, according to the CDC.
“The types of symptoms and their severity sometimes depend more on a person’s immunity and overall fitness than on the variant causing the infection,” the CDC said.
With the arrival of winter, respiratory illnesses, RSV, and flu also increase.
On Dec. 10, the CDC said 15 states, including California and South Carolina, were experiencing high or very high degrees of respiratory illness.
RSV hospitalizations were higher in children younger than four years and higher in adults older than 65 years.
There is an RSV vaccine that the CDC recommends for adults over 60 and pregnant women, while a universal flu vaccine is in the works that would resist all strains of the virus.