Dr. NK Arora, the head of the India SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), stated that no additional dosage of vaccination is required against the subvariant at this time, despite an increase in COVID-19 cases in the country and the discovery of a subvariant JN.1.
“I would say prevention is required for all those who are 60 years of age or older, who are likely to have comorbidities, and those who are on drugs that suppress our immunity, like cancer patients,” Dr. Arora stated in an interview with ANI regarding the current state of affairs in the nation. There is no need for extra dosages if they have already taken precautions; if not, they are encouraged to do so.”
The head of INSACOG claimed that while several Omicron subvariants have been identified, none of them have become more severe.
“Every week, you hear about something new that starts in one area and eventually spreads throughout India. Thankfully, none of the Omicron variations of this virus—more than 400 subvariants or mutations—have been linked to more serious illness or hospitalization, the speaker stated.
He outlined the main signs and symptoms of JN.1, emphasizing how they are comparable to those of other subvariants. “The lack of ability to distinguish JN.1 from other Omicron subvariants, such as fever, nasal discharge, and cough, results in extremely similar symptoms.” The doctor said that although individuals often recover in two to five days, there may be occasional diarrhea and severe bodily pains.
Dr. Arora went on to say that while the number of instances is increasing, fewer people are being admitted to hospitals.
“In the previous eight weeks, from October of last week to the present, we have observed 22 instances in India. There’s no indication that it’s spreading quickly. Less than 1% of all isolates to date are JN.1. “The number of instances has undoubtedly grown recently, and testing has also increased,” he stated.
“The number of hospitalizations has not increased. Kerala is a place where we see a lot of instances, but I also have to note that other areas where testing has expanded recently are reporting more cases. However, there hasn’t been a rise in hospital admissions, serious illnesses that necessitate breathing apparatus, or fatalities,” the physician said.
He restated the fact that being vigilant is more important than panicking. “I would like to assure everybody that we need to be vigilant, but not panicky at all,” he said.
He went over the main JN.1 symptoms and noted how they are comparable to those of other subvariants. “The lack of ability to distinguish JN.1 from other Omicron subvariants, such as fever, nasal discharge, and cough, results in extremely similar symptoms.” Periodically, there may be severe bodily pains and diarrhea, although these normally go away.
Over the previous 24 hours, there has been a multiplication of new COVID-19 instances reported in India, with Kerala accounting for the majority of those cases. According to data from the Union Health Ministry, 266 of the 423 cases that were recorded came from Kerala, while 70 from nearby Karnataka.
In Kerala, there were two recorded deaths. There are 3,420 current COVID-19 cases nationwide, according to the data.
JN.1 is now considered to be a variation of interest by the World Health Organization (WHO), different from its parent lineage BA.2.86. The global health organization did, however, stress that, according to available data, the overall danger presented by JN.1 is still negligible. WHO is categorizing the variation JN.1 as a distinct variant of interest (VOI) from the parent lineage BA.2.86 because of its quickly spreading nature. It was once included in the BA.2.86 sub-lineages and designated as VOI.
The increased worldwide public health risk that JN.1 poses is now deemed to be modest based on the data that is currently available. Despite this, JN.1 may contribute to a rise in respiratory illnesses in several nations as winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere. Before this, the WHO had stated that it was constantly assessing the data and would revise the JN.1 risk assessment as necessary.
