Seven infections of the Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 has been detected in the country, the national disease control and prevention administration said.
The authorities on Dec 15 said the prevalence level of JN.1 was currently “very low” but could not rule out the possibility of it becoming the dominant strain in China due to factors that included imported cases. JN.1 now accounts for more than one-fifth of all cases in the United States, based on estimates on Dec 15 from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This uptick suggests that JN.1 could be more transmissible and better at slipping past people’s immune systems, the CDC said.
The agency said JN.1 cases will continue to rise as the sub-variant is currently the fastest growing in the US. JN.1 is closely related to sub-variant BA.2.86 of the virus, which the CDC has been tracking since August.
The CDC said JN.1 was first detected in the US in September and was earlier grouped with BA.2.86 in its data tracker.
On Nov 27, CDC said the BA.2.86 sub-variant accounts for about five to 15% of currently circulating variants. — Reuters
