The rise in the new JN.1 subvariant of the Covid virus globally has alarmed countries, including India, which has now directed the States to send samples of all Covid-19 test swabs for whole-genome sequencing. This measure aims to keep vigilance on the variant, as advised by the World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen surveillance.
India has reported 656 cases and one death in the last 24 hours, according to Government data. Authorities said the numbers could be higher, as people are not coming forward to conduct tests ahead of festivities and the winter season. So far India has reported 22 cases of JN variant.
Meanwhile, the WHO has called upon nations in the South-East Asian region to enhance their monitoring efforts in light of the rising instances of respiratory ailments, including Covid-19 and its emerging sub-variant JN.1, as well as influenza.
Additionally, the WHO has encouraged individuals to adopt precautionary measures.
The WHO’s advice for people not to lower their guard holds significance, considering that in May, it declared that Covid-19 no longer constituted a public health emergency of international concern due to a sustained decline in infection trajectory, hospitalisations, and deaths, along with high levels of population immunity to SARS-CoV-2.
“The Covid-19 virus continues to evolve, change, and circulate in all countries globally. While current evidence suggests the additional public health risk posed by JN.1 is low, we must continue to track the evolution of these viruses to tailor our response.
“For this, countries must strengthen surveillance and sequencing, and ensure sharing of data,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, WHO South-East Asia.
WHO has classified JN.1 as a variant of interest following its rapid global spread. In recent weeks, JN.1 was reported in multiple countries, and its prevalence has been rapidly increasing globally.
Considering the limited available evidence, the additional public health risk posed by JN.1 is currently evaluated as low at the global level, Singh said. It is anticipated that this variant may cause an increase in Covid-19 cases amid surge of infections of other viral and bacterial infections, especially in countries entering the winter season. “As people travel and gather for festivities during the holiday season, spending a lot of time together indoors where poor ventilation facilitates the transmission of viruses that cause respiratory diseases, they must take protective measures and seek timely clinical care when unwell,” said Dr Khetrapal Singh.
The regional director also emphasised on the importance of vaccination against Covid-19 and influenza, especially for people at high risk. “All WHO-approved Covid-19 vaccines continue to protect against severe diseases and deaths from all variants including JN.1,” she said. While considerable progress has been made in establishing and strengthening a global system to detect and rapidly assess risks posed by SARS-CoV2, testing and reporting of Covid-19 cases has decreased.
On the vaccine efficacy to contain the new variant of Covid, former AIIMS director and senior pulmonologist Randeep Guleria is quoted by an agency saying, “We need a vaccine which covers a broader type of the virus. We have had multiple mutations: Jn.1 is a sub lineage of Omicron. So a vaccine which is made against Omicron will be effective against this variant also.
“We need more data first to show what is the current immunity in the population, and the protection that have based on the previous vaccination that we’ve got, based on that, only can we decide that do we need a new vaccine, which covers the current circulating strain, and that is something that has to be done regularly because variants will keep changing,” he added.
India SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) chief Dr NK Arora too echoed similar views saying no additional dose of vaccine is needed against the subvariant at present.
“Every week you hear something new coming up in different parts and then it spreads all over India. We have identified a large number of sub variants, over 400 sub variants, or mutations of this virus, and fortunately, none of these Omicron variants have really been associated with more severe disease or hospitalisation,” Dr NK Arora told a news agency.
With a single-day rise of 656 Covid infections, active cases tally has touched 3,742, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The death toll was recorded at 5,33,333 with one new death reported from Kerala in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed. The case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent. According to the Ministry’s website, 220.67 crore doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in the country so far.
