Experts say JN.1 variant may cause bigger wave

JN.1, the currently dominant and highly transmissible Covid-19 sub-variant, may result in a bigger wave than the previous ones, according to global experts. The JN.1 variant, classified as a variant of interest (VOI) by the World Health Organization (WHO) due to its rapid spread, is currently present in more than 41 countries, including India.

It was first detected in Luxembourg in August. JN.1 is similar to its parent BA.2.86, but has an additional mutation (L455S) in the spike protein, which has immune-evasion properties. "Unfortunately, it is likely that this JN.1 wave has not yet peaked and will peak mid-January, either next week or the week after," Professor Christina Pagel of University College London (UCL) previously told i news.

"I am sure this wave will rival the first two Omicron waves in 2022 and might even exceed them." "By wastewater levels, JN.1 is now associated with the second-biggest wave of infections in the US in the pandemic, after Omicron. We have lost the ability to track the actual number of infections since most people either test at home or don’t even test at all, but the very high wastewater levels of the virus indicate about 2 million Americans are getting infected each day," Eric J. Topol, Professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research wrote in an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times.

"In several countries in Europe, wastewater levels reached unprecedented levels, exceeding Omicron. Clearly this virus variant, with its plethora of new mutations, has continued its evolution with mutations adapted for infecting or reinfecting us," he added.

Coming weeks could see "quite a major surge in infections -- the wave could be bigger than anything we've seen before", Professor Peter Openshaw, a virus expert at Imperial College London, was quoted as saying to The Sun Health. To help curb the spread, the experts advised people to take Covid booster, wear masks in public again. A recent study by The Ohio State University showed that BA.2.86 can infect cells in the lower lung and can enter cell membranes more efficiently than other versions of Omicron.