Fears mounted in India as around 69 cases of the new JN.1 variant of Covid-19 were reported across the country, the Times of India reported.

Two days earlier, the authorities confirmed at least one death during the last 24 hours while a total of 628 cases were reported, it added.

This took the total death toll from Covid-19 in India to 5,33,334.

On December 19, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the JN.1 coronavirus strain as a “variant of interest” and said current evidence shows risk to public health was low from the strain, Reuters reported.

At least two experts told Reuters that while the strain can evade the immune system and transmit more easily than other currently circulating variants, it has not shown any signs of more severe disease.

While there might be more cases with the variant, JN.1 doesn’t pose a greater risk, said Andrew Pekosz, a virologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

JN.1 was previously classified a variant of interest as part of its parent lineage BA.2.86, but WHO has now classified it as a separate variant of interest.

WHO said current vaccines will continue to protect against severe disease and death from JN.1 and other circulating variants of the COVID-19 virus.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said earlier this month the subvariant JN.1 makes up about an estimated 15% to 29% of cases in the United States as of December 8, according to the agency’s latest projections.

The CDC had said currently there was no evidence that JN.1 presents an increased risk to public health relative to other currently circulating variants and an updated shot could keep Americans protected against the variant.

JN.1 was first detected in the United States in September, according to the CDC.

Last week, China detected seven infections of the COVID subvariant.

Symptoms

According to the CDC, it is not currently known whether JN.1 infection produces different symptoms from other variants. In general, symptoms of Covid-19 tend to be similar across variants.

The types of symptoms and how severe they are usually depend more on a person’s immunity and overall health rather than which variant causes the infection.