00:00 After enjoying a relatively COVID-19-free existence for over two years, recent concerns
00:08 have surfaced due to a spike in coronavirus cases in the past few days.
00:13 The detection of JN.1, a sub-variant of COVID-19 spreading in the US and China, has added to
00:20 these worries, especially since it has now been identified in Kerala, India.
00:25 Acting promptly, the Centre has issued alerts to states urging them to enhance testing efforts,
00:30 including a higher frequency of RT-PCR tests.
00:35 Positive samples are to be sent for genome sequencing to INSECOG laboratories.
00:40 The initial case of JN.1 was identified in a positive RT-PCR sample in Karakulam, Thiruvananthapuram
00:46 district, Kerala, on December 8, 2023.
00:49 India has reported 260 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours.
00:55 The World Health Organization on Tuesday classified the JN.1 coronavirus strain as a "variant
01:01 of interest" but said it did not pose much threat to public health.
01:06 "Based on the available evidence, the additional global public health risk posed by JN.1 is
01:12 currently evaluated as low," said WHO.
01:16 JN.1 was previously classified as a variant of interest as a part of its parent lineage
01:21 BA.2.86.
01:22 The United Nations Agency has assured that existing vaccines continue to offer protection
01:28 against severe disease and death caused by JN.1 and other prevalent variants of the COVID-19
01:34 virus.
01:35 The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported this month that the JN.1 sub-variant
01:41 constitutes an estimated 15% to 29% of cases in the US as of December 8, according to the
01:49 latest projections.
01:50 The CDC emphasized that at present, there is no evidence indicating that JN.1 poses
01:56 an increased risk to public health compared to other circulating variants.
02:00 Furthermore, the agency suggested that an updated vaccine could further ensure protection
02:05 against the JN.1 variant.
02:07 JN.1 was initially identified in the US in September, as reported by the CDC.
02:12 Recently, China identified seven infections caused by this COVID sub-variant.
02:17 JN.1 variant, a descendant of the Parola variant, that is BA.2.86, came to the world's attention
02:23 over the summer because of the large number of changes to its spike proteins.
02:28 This variant has only one change to its spike protein compared with its ancestor, but that
02:33 seems to have been enough to make it a fitter and faster virus.
02:38 According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccinations targeting the
02:42 spike protein of a virus should also function against JN.1 and BA.2.86.
02:48 A majority of these cases are clinically mild, and the patients are recovering on their own
02:53 at their homes without any treatment.
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