Is the new JN.1 variant of Covid-19 dangerous?

Regarding the current Covid-19 situation, Dr. Hoang Minh Duc, Deputy Director in charge, management and administration of the Department of Preventive Medicine (Ministry of Health) said, according to the announcement of the World Health Organization (WHO) In 2023 to early 2024, the Covid-19 epidemic continues to record new variants, including variants that need to be monitored (XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, EG.5, BA.2.86, JN.1 ).

WHO also said that the number of hospitalizations due to Covid-19 in December 2023 increased by 42% in nearly 50 countries, mostly in Europe and America. The rate of hospitalizations in intensive care units also increased by 62% compared to November 2023, including more than 10,000 deaths due to Covid-19.

Although this number is much lower than the peak of the epidemic, according to WHO, this is still an unacceptable level. WHO therefore calls on governments to continue to monitor and respond as best they can in providing vaccines and medical treatment to people.

Elderly people are still at high risk of serious complications if infected with Covid-19 (Covid-19 vaccination for elderly people in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo HCDC)

At a regular press conference on the socio-economic situation in Ho Chi Minh City, on the followingnoon of January 15, Deputy Director of the City Center for Disease Control (HCDC) Le Hong Nga informed regarding the JN sub-variant. .1 of SARS-CoV-2. According to Ms. Nga, at the end of 2023, through gene sequencing of some hospitalized patients, Ho Chi Minh City’s infectious disease surveillance system recorded the presence of the JN.1 sub-variant.

According to Dr. Duc, SARS-CoV-2 continuously mutates to create new variants, the latest being the JN.1 variant. According to WHO classification, JN.1 belongs to the variant group of concern, which is the BA.2.86 sub-branch variant of Omicron.

“The number of Covid-19 cases in particular and other respiratory diseases in general is forecast to increase in the near future, especially in countries in winter, which may increase hospitalizations.” .

On the basis of changes in the characteristics of the virus, the level of spread, the associated severity or the effectiveness of vaccines, therapeutic drugs, diagnostics, and social measures, WHO classifies variants of SARS-CoV -2 into 4 groups: variants of concern, variants of concern, variants under monitoring, variants with serious consequences.

Reports also show that the JN.1 variant is the most reported Covid-19 variant in the world. However, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is no evidence that JN.1 poses a greater risk to public health than other variants of SARS. -CoV-2″, Dr. Duc said.

Dr. Duc shared that currently the national vaccination program of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (Ministry of Health) is preserving more than 432,000 doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine with an expiration date until September 2024. This vaccine is reserved for use in localities with outbreaks and high-risk groups of people (people with underlying diseases, immunocompromised people, the elderly…).

The Ministry of Health has also asked localities to review and report vaccine needs in 2024 to have supply plans; The implementation of Covid-19 vaccination has updated vaccination instructions for target groups according to WHO recommendations.

According to Dr. Duc, currently the weather is cold, damp, and it is a festival season with a lot of travel and trade, so there is a risk of outbreaks of many respiratory transmitted diseases such as Covid-19, flu…

Therefore, the Ministry of Health still recommends that people take personal disease prevention measures such as wearing masks when going to crowded places, regularly washing hands, rinsing mouth with antibacterial water; Avoid close contact with people with symptoms of respiratory infections such as cough, fever, difficulty breathing…

Statistics from the Department of Preventive Medicine show that in 2023, the whole country will record 99,000 cases of Covid-19, a decrease of 82.4 times compared to 2022; There were no deaths.

In the first 2 weeks of 2024, 419 cases of Covid-19 were recorded and hospitalized scattered in 39 provinces and cities; The number of cases increased 2.4 times compared to the previous 2 weeks, the number of hospitalizations increased but there were no severe cases, the treatment system is still responding effectively.