JN.1 Covid sub-variant might be milder than earlier thought, experts say

The new COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 started a new scare among the masses with growing numbers of cases all around the world. The scare was so much that in some parts of the world, people were reminded of old pandemic days. 

The latest figures from England’s current Covid wave show that people are less likely to fall too sick to be hospitalised, as compared to previous waves. 

It means people who are infected by COVID-19 recently have less to worry about than at any other time during the pandemic, Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia in the UK told the NewScientist.

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JN.1 variant might be the mildest form of Covid-19 

JN.1 subvariant which was first detected in August in Luxembourg was another version of the deadly Omicron variant. It then spread across many European countries quickly and by November it became quite evident by genetic sequencing that JN.1 was rapidly taking over. 

These observations led to concerns over JN.1 that it might start a new Covid wave that would be even deadlier than the previous ones. At this time, hospitals in Europe have already been facing a high turnout of patients with seasonal respiratory viruses. This encouraged hospitals in Europe to take preventive measures way before it was established whether JN.1 is as deadly as Omicron.

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Fortunately, data later suggested that the fear of a bigger wave because of JN.1 variant is not true. 

Some numbers to prove 

To put things into perspective, the number of Covid-19 infected people in England amid the current wave seems to have peaked in late December, at about 4.5 per cent of the population, as per a large, regular survey by the Office for National Statistics and the UK Health Security Agency. This is similar to that seen during the Covid-19 wave that peaked in December 2022.

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Yet the number of Covid-19 infected people being admitted to hospitals in England seems to have peaked this winter at just over a third of the equivalent figure from 2022. The number was 3300 a year ago in early January, while during the same time in 2024, only 1300 people were hospitalised. 

It is unclear whether the fall in severity is because JN.1 is milder than other variants or if people just have more immunity to Covid-19 now due to past infections and vaccinations, “I think immunity is probably playing a big role, but it may be that the latest variant is also less virulent,” says Hunter.

(With inputs from agencies)