A new Covid-19 variant, named JN.1, has spread to at least 12 countries since it was first detected in September.
However, the virus still makes up only a tiny proportion of Covid cases, meaning there is not enough data to understand if it is more transmissible than previous variants – or whether vaccines will be able to protect against.
JN.1 is a descendent of the BA.2.86 variant known as Pirola, an Omicron substrain which first emerged in the summer. It initially caused concern given the high number of mutations compared to Omicron, which remains the dominant strain behind current infections.
However, data collected so far suggests despite these significant changes, Pirola has not spread more quickly than other variants, and does appear immune to current vaccines.
JN.1 has only one additional mutation compared to Pirola.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention commented on JN.1 in October, stating: ‘It is too early to tell whether [JN.1] will spread more widely. Neither JN.1 nor BA.2.86 is common in the US right now. In fact, JN.1 has been detected so rarely that it makes up fewer than 0.1% of Covid viruses.
‘Even though BA.2.86 and JN.1 sound very different because of the way variants are named, there is only a single change between JN.1 and BA.2.86 in the spike protein. The spike protein – called a “spike” because it looks like tiny spikes on the virus’s surface – plays a crucial role in helping the virus infect people.
‘Because of this, the spike protein is also the part of a virus that vaccines target, meaning vaccines should work against JN.1 and BA.2.86 similarly.
‘For example, initial scientific data show that the updated 2023-2024 Covid-19 vaccines help our immune systems block BA.2.86. We expect JN.1 will be similar. We also expect treatments and testing to remain effective based on analysis.’
It added that ‘for as long as we have Covid-19, we’ll have new variants’.
The World Health Organisations does not list JN.1 as a currently circulating variant under monitoring.
Earlier this month, the UK Health Security Agency launched a campaign urging anyone eligible for the winter Covid-19 and flu vaccines to ‘get winter strong’ and book in for their jabs, helping protect vulnerable populations across the country.
The UK’s winter vaccination programme was launched early following the arrival of Pirola.
What are the symptoms of the new Covid variant JN.1?
With limited data it is too early to say if infection with JN.1 results in any previously unreported symptoms.
However, the NHS lists the common symptoms of Covid as:
- a high temperature or shivering (chills)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- shortness of breath
- feeling tired or exhausted
- an aching body
- a headache
- a sore throat
- a blocked or runny nose
- loss of appetite
- diarrhoea
- feeling sick or being sick
The health service recommends people with Covid stay at home and try to avoid contact with other people for five days after testing positive – and avoid meeting people who are at highest risk from the virus for ten days.
You should call NHS 111 if your symptoms or those of a child’s are getting worse rather than better – and in an emergency such as severe breathlessness, coughing up blood, or collapsing, you should dial 999 or go to A&E.
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