COVID variant JN.1 now more than 90% of cases, CDC estimates

Close to each caller COVID-19 cases successful the United States are present being caused by the JN.1 variant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, with an estimated 93.1% of infections present blamed connected the highly mutated strain. 

The CDC's latest biweekly estimation of the variant's dispersed was published Friday. It comes arsenic cardinal trends reflecting COVID-19's dispersed are present showing signs of slowing, pursuing a highest implicit the wintertime holidays.

"Several cardinal indicators are showing decreasing levels of enactment nationally," the bureau said Friday successful its play respiratory viruses report. 

Only the South has seen trends of the microorganism rise successful wastewater implicit caller weeks, according to the CDC's tally done Feb. 1. 

Most parts of the state are besides seeing steep slowdowns successful COVID-19 cases diagnosed successful exigency rooms, but successful the South wherever trends present look to person astir plateaued successful immoderate states.

The bureau besides published caller information Thursday from its pharmacy investigating programme that suggests this season's updated COVID-19 vaccines had 49% effectiveness against symptomatic JN.1 infection, among radical betwixt 2 to 4 months since they got their shot. 

"New information from CDC amusement that the updated COVID-19 vaccines were effectual against COVID-19 during September 2023 – January 2024, including against variants from the XBB lineage, which is included successful the updated vaccine, and JN.1, a caller variant that has go ascendant successful caller weeks," the CDC said successful a station connected Thursday. 

CDC officials person said that different information from ongoing studies utilizing aesculapian records besides offered "early signals" that JN.1's severity was so not worse than erstwhile strains. That is simply a measurement beyond the agency's erstwhile statements simply that determination was "no evidence" the strain was causing much terrible disease. 

The CDC's caller variant estimates people the culmination of a swift emergence for JN.1, which had inactive made up little than fractional of infections successful the agency's estimates through precocious December.

Some of the earliest samples of the strain successful the planetary microorganism database GISAID date backmost to August, erstwhile cases of JN.1 – a descendant of an earlier worrying variant called BA.2.86 – showed up successful Iceland and Luxembourg. 

By the extremity of September, astatine slightest 11 cases had been sequenced successful the U.S., prompting renewed interest that BA.2.86 had picked up changes that were accelerating its dispersed astir the world.

The World Health Organization stepped up its classification of JN.1 to a standalone "variant of interest" successful mid-December, citing the variant's accelerated ascent. Health authorities successful the U.S. person declined to bash the same, continuing to lump the strain in with its BA.2.86 parent.

In:
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• COVID-19
• Coronavirus