With cases of the Covid-19 sub-variant JN.1 on the rise across several countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday designated it as a “variant of interest” separate from its ancestor BA.2.86 that is commonly referred to as Pirola.
“Due to its rapidly increasing spread, WHO is classifying the variant JN.1as a separate variant of interest (VOI) from the parent lineage BA.2.86,” said a statement from the inter-government body. It was previously considered to be a VOI as a part of Pirola sub-lineages.
WHO maintained that there was no evidence to suggest any additional public health risk posed by the variant. “Despite this, with the onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, JN.1 could increase the burden of respiratory infections in many countries,” the statement said. It also said that the current vaccines continue to protect against severe disease and death due to JN.1.
