A scientist has warned a new subvariant of coronavirus will soon become the dominant variant in the UK.
JN.1 is a sub-lineage of the BA.2.86 Omicron variant, which has one mutation in its spike protein. The new JN.1 strain first appeared in Luxembourg in August and researchers fear it will prove more infectious than previous variants because of a specific mutation.
According to our sister site, Belfast Live, the JN.1 strain, combined with people mixing more over the next few weeks thanks to parties and shopping could lead to a Christmas Day spike. Professor of innate immunity at the University of Cambridge, Clare Bryant, said BA.2.86 only represents 13% of sequenced cases, but says it will "probably become the next common variant".
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Professor Bryant said the various mutations in JN.1 were "interesting", including some unseen since the Alpha and Beta variants in 2020 and 2021. She told Sky News that although there isn't enough data to confirm anything yet, the changes could mean JN.1 evades our immune systems more easily and replicates faster.
She added: "The change in the spike protein will probably correlate to it being more infectious. And that's what's caused us the most problems so far – because you can't control something that's that infectious."
That view was echoed by Professor Sheena Cruickshank, immunologist at the University of Manchester, who added that it could take longer to recover from or cause more severe disease. She said: "One of the mutations JN.1 seems to have the potential to help it better latch onto cells, making it better at infecting us. That coupled with immune evasion mechanisms mean it may be tricky for our immune systems to get rid of."
Professor Cruickshank said that "by inference" this should also mean vaccines work well against JN.1. However, both scientists say the low vaccination levels were more concerning.
Now only the over 65s, care home residents, carers, health and social care workers, and the clinically vulnerable can get booster jabs on the NHS. And out of those only around 50% are being vaccinated, meaning general protection is quite low. Alongside the cough and shortness of breath familiar to many who have had the virus before, symptoms for the new JN.1 strain also include diarrhoea and fatigue.
Official advice from the NHS website states if you have a high temperature or do not feel well enough to go to work, school, childcare, or do normal activities, you should try to stay at home until you feel better and get plenty of rest.
The NHS offers treatment to people with Covid-19 who are at the highest risk of becoming seriously ill, and anyone who has been told they are in this category should keep rapid lateral flow tests at home.
Full list of symptoms:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhoea
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