The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that COVID subvariant JN.1 is responsible for about 62% of cases in the U.S. as of Jan. 5, according to the agency’s projections.
The agency said JN.1, an offspring of BA.2.86, is now the most widespread variant in the US and globally.
It is also the dominant variant in Europe and is surging in Asia, the CDC said.
The predicted range of 55% to 68% of cases is an increase from the estimated prevalence of 39% to 50% of cases in the US predicted by the CDC on December 23.
The CDC said there is currently no evidence that JN.1 causes more severe disease and added that current vaccines are expected to increase protection against JN.1.
COVID-19 hospitalizations rose 20.4% in the week ending Dec. 30, the CDC said.
In December, the World Health Organization classified JN.1 as a “variant of interest” and said current evidence shows the strain’s risk to public health is low. (Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
2024-01-05 23:23:20
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