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SINGAPORE, Dec. 20 — A new strain of Covid-19, “JN. 1,” which accounts for the vast majority of the new wave of infections in Singapore, was classified as a “variant of interest” on Tuesday, Dec. 19, via Le Monde’s United Nations Health Organization (WHO).
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said last Friday that Singapore recorded around 56,043 Covid-19 cases in the week of December 3 to 9, up 75% from last week.
The ministry is advising members of the public to wear masks in crowded spaces even if they are not sick, and has opened a second Covid-19 treatment facility to care for Covid-19 patients who do not need intensive hospital care.
Since then, cases have stagnated over the past week, with a seven-day increase of 7,730 on Dec. 17, down from 7,870 cases on Dec. 12.
In its statement last Friday, MOH said that the vast majority of cases it sees come from the JN.1 strain, though it did not provide an exact figure.
It is the transmissibility of the new strain that led the WHO to treat it as an “interesting variant. “
In a statement on Tuesday, the WHO said the JN. 1 strain was detected as a component of its original BA. 2. 86 strain, also known as the “Pirola” strain, and was a variant of interest to the WHO.
Although its health threat was considered low, its prevalence globally led the company to classify it as a separate variant.
HOY speaks with infectious disease experts about the severity of the JN. 1 strain, its point of transmissibility, and the points that have led to the new surge in cases.
Should we focus on JN. 1?
The president of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, Dr. Paul Tambyah, noted that while JN. 1 may be highly transmissible, it is not more severe than previous variants.
JN. 1 has been around “for some time,” and the WHO reported that it collected the first pattern of the variant on Aug. 25.
“The WHO (that JN. 1 is not more severe) is demonstrated by local knowledge from Singapore, which shows only a marginal increase in ICU occupancy despite the large increase in the number of reported cases,” Dr. Tamthroughah said.
Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that the average intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy rate for nine Covid-19 cases was 9. 4 from December 3 to 9, up from 4. 4 last week. The number of cases rose from 32,035 to 56,043 last year. Same period.
Dr. Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious disease physician at the Rophi Clinic, added that while the new strain may not be more severe, it is “just as miserable” for those infected.
“For those who have not been infected for a long time it tends to be more uncomfortable,” he said.
“For many older adults and those at risk, the next crisis may be as depressing or as serious as the last one. “
Why is JN. 1 so transmissible?
Dr. Tamthroughah said the peak number of Covid-19 cases in Singapore is likely due to the evolution of the coronavirus.
“This happens with the flu and bloodless viruses (rhinoviruses),” he said.
“The reality is that these viruses are well adapted to avoiding the human immune system… most viruses that have adapted well to humans are constantly evolving to avoid the immune response generated by infection or vaccination.”
According to experts, the inertia in updating Covid-19 vaccines and the time elapsed since a previous infection have also caused an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases.
Dr Leong said: “In any case, the longer it lasts, the more likely they are to be in poor health (due to) the relative lack of immunity.
“Although hybrid immunity exists, for this strain it is not enough because of the mutations that have occurred since then. “
Hybrid immunity is a combination of the effects of previous infections and vaccination, which provides stronger immunity against subsequent infections.
Dr. Tamthroughah added that while it is unclear whether existing Covid-19 vaccines are effective against JN. 1, he noted that the WHO has stated that the protections presented through vaccines to combat the Omicron XBB variant are “very likely to be effective. “”.
The WHO added in its report on Tuesday that its technical advisory teams were monitoring the situation.
“Certainly, if the vaccination rate were much higher, as in previous rounds of vaccination, we would see far fewer cases and fewer hospitalizations,” Dr. Leong said.
The Ministry of Health considers that the minimum coverage for people over five years of age is three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty), Moderna-Spikevax or Novavax (Nuvaxovid) vaccines, or four doses of Sinovac.
According to the ministry’s website, it recommends an additional dose of the updated vaccine one year after the last dose for other people over the age of 60, those who are medically vulnerable, and citizens of senior care facilities.
What other factors are fuelling the covid-19 case spike in singapore?
Experts told TODAY that, in addition to the new variant, winter situations in the northern hemisphere and the increasing choice not to wear a mask have fueled Covid-19 cases.
Dr Leong said that more Covid-19 cases might be recorded as people are getting more than one viral infection at once as well.
“People are more symptomatic because they can be positive for Covid-19 and have an underlying viral infection that is not diagnosed,” he explained.
With a more severe illness, people are more likely to see a doctor or be admitted to hospital. This would cause the recorded number of cases to rise.
Increased travel is also another factor, said Dr Tambyah, as travel helps mix and spread different virus strains that have developed in different locations.
On this point, Dr. Leong added that this is an epidemic like any other, where the cities and countries most connected to the rest of the world will be the first to be affected by an increase in Covid-19 cases.