JN.1 Covid variant continuing to spread as UK cases head towards record numbers
The highly-contagious JN.1 subvariant continues to spread across the UK and now accounts for nearly two thirds of all new Covid cases, figures indicate.
The number of JN.1 infections has soared in recent weeks, from just 4 per cent of UK Covid cases in early November to account for 65 per cent on December 30, according to the latest data from COG-UK.
Together with Christmas socialising, this has fuelled the current wave of the virus, which has been growing so rapidly that scientists say it will be nearly as big as previous records and could even set an all-time high in the UK in the next week or so.
“The rapid rise of infections with the JN.1 variant in the UK and across the world is yet another reminder that the pandemic is far from over. JN.1 is one of the most immune-evading variants to date and is likely to be the lineage from which new variants will evolve,” Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University told i.
“We can expect to see more people suffering from infections with JN .1 over the coming weeks as a consequence of more indoor mixing due to the cold weather and the return of pupils to school. More infections means more days off work and more hospitalisations.
“The good news is that early evidence indicates that the updated booster jab will provide some protection from severe infection with JN.1. But the problem is that most people haven’t received this booster jab and have waning immunity.”
The current record for Covid cases was set in April 2022, when 7.6 per cent of the UK population was infected with the virus, according to ONS data, followed by January 2022, when 6.9 per cent were infected.
By comparison, 4.3 per cent had the virus on 13 December, 2023 with numbers expected to have risen considerably since then, to the point where they are thought to rival, or even exceed, those previous highs.
Although JN.1 is more infectious than the 10 or so other Covid subvariants circulating in the UK at the moment, there is no evidence that it is any more severe – although all subvariants can result in serious illness, long Covid or death, scientists warn.
Rowland Kao, of Edinburgh University, told i: “While it is reassuring that we have no evidence that JN.1 causes more severe infection the fact that it is dominating new cases means that healthcare burdens are likely to be higher than if the variant didn’t exist.
“So even though it is still believed that the most recent boosters are protective, for individuals it is worth being extra aware of contact with vulnerable persons, even if they have had recent boosters – because we know protection isn’t 100 per cent. It remains important for eligible individuals to get boosters.”
Scientists warned last week that Covid cases may hit a new record in the middle of January after the highly-infectious JN.1 subvariant became the dominant strain over Christmas.
These warnings came after the latest available ONS and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) winter infection survey, published on 21 December, estimated that 2.54 million people had Covid on 13 December – more than double the level seen at the start of that month.
The recent surge in Covid infections has also prompted warnings that more than 100,000 Britons are at risk of developing long Covid in the coming weeks.
