COVID-19's JN.1 Sparks Concerns of Experts

Recently, a new strain of COVID-19 variant sparked the interest and worry of scientists which is JN.1 strain.

The JN.1 strain of coronavirus was detected in 12 countries, including the US, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Scientists think that the latest variant could be more infectious and could evade vaccine immunity. 

The JN.1 variant drives the infections to surge and raise the concerns of the health authorities.

According to experts, the new Covid variant is a descendant of BA.2.86, "Neither JN.1 nor BA.2.86 is common in the United States right now. In fact, JN.1 has been detected so rarely that it makes up fewer than 0.1 percent of SARS-CoV-2 viruses," CDC stated. 

The only single differentiation between JN.1 and BA.2.86 is in the spike protein. It looks like tiny spikes on the virus' surface - plays a crucial role in helping the virus infect people," the CDC said, adding, "Because of this, the spike protein is also the part of a virus that vaccines target, meaning vaccines should work against JN.1 and BA.2.86 similarly".