JN.1 variant is now responsible for 62% of Covid cases in US

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] has said that Covid subvariant JN.1 accounts for about 62 percent of cases in the US as of January 5, according to the agency's projections.

The agency said that JN.1, which is an offspring of BA.2.86, is now the most widely circulated variant in the US and globally.

It is also the dominant variant in Europe and is rising sharply in Asia, the CDC said.

The predicted range of 55 percent to 68 percent of cases is an increase from the estimated prevalence of 39 percent to 50 percent of cases in the US projected by the CDC as of December 23.

The CDC said currently there is no evidence that JN.1 causes more severe disease and added current vaccines are expected to increase protection against JN.1.

Covid-19 hospitalisations increased 20.4 percent in the week ended December 30, the CDC said.

In December, the World Health Organization classified JN.1 as a "variant of interest" and said current evidence shows the risk to public health was low from the strain.