SNOHOMISH COUNTY — A more mutated version of the omicron coronavirus spreading worldwide, the COVID JN.1 strain, was named by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a variant of concern Dec. 19.
The WHO says JN.1’s public health risk is “low.” It is a variant which the vaccines released this fall can fight.
Why’s it a topic?
JN.1’s ancestor, the BA.2.86 variant, has more than 30 genetic differences in how it enters human cells compared to its omicron siblings.
JN.1 has one more particular mutation that gives it a better ability to evade being neutralized by the immune system’s antibodies, according to a correspondence letter by scientists published Dec. 15 in the medical journal The Lancet. However, its weakness is it is less able to bind to and enter cells to sicken people.
JN.1’s mutation compensates for BA.2.86’s weakness against antibodies, the scientists wrote.
They warn to closely monitor immune-resistant variants like this because they could evolve further to be smarter at entering human cells while maintaining a brawnier defense against the immune system from its past evolutionary lineage.
How much is it spreading?
Nationally, JN.1 cases began rising fast in late November. It is expected to soon be the dominant strain in America.
Locally, one of the state’s variant monitoring methods — sewer samples — showed JN.1 in Snohomish County appeared in late November.
The state Department of Health’s latest official coronavirus detection report covers activity until mid-November. JN.1 wasn’t listed. Its next report is expected to be published during the first week of January, a state health spokeswoman said.
Another newer strain circulating, HV.1, was detected in the state in August.
HV.1 falls under a different branch of omicron’s family tree: The XBB family.
Virus variants in XBB’s branch evolved to be more effective in binding to cells to infect people faster.
