A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus which is the type of virus linked to COVID-19, better known as the coronavirus linked to the Wuhan outbreak, shared with Reuters on February 18, 2020. NEXU Science Communication/via REUTERS/File Photo
COVID subvariant JN.1 accounts for 39 percent to 50 percent of cases in the United States as of December 23, said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday.
This is an increase from the estimated 15 percent to 29 percent of cases in the United States, the CDC had projected as of December 8.
The CDC said the variant continues to cause an increasing share of infections and is now the most widely circulating variant in the country.
The continued growth suggests the variant is either more transmissible or better at evading immune systems than other circulating variants, it added.
It is too early to know whether or to what extent JN.1 will cause an increase in infections or hospitalizations, the CDC said, adding that existing vaccines, tests, and treatments still work well against it.
On Tuesday, the World Health Organization classified JN.1 as a “variant of interest” and said current evidence shows risk to public health was low from the strain.
