In the midst of the growing fear surrounding the new JN.1 Covid-19 variant, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, a former head scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), stated that there is now no reason to panic because this variant is of interest rather than alarm. She did, however, advise individuals to exercise caution and take the appropriate safety precautions.
“We need to be cautious, but we don’t need to worry because we don’t have any data to suggest that this variant JN.1 is more severe or it’s going to cause more pneumonia, or more deaths…So I think what we need to do is try to take the normal preventive measures that we are all now familiar with,” Dr Swaminathan mentioned in conversation with ANI.
She continued, “…We’re all now very familiar with Omicron. So it’s the same family. So not much has changed, but 1 or 2 new mutations have come up. And that’s why I think WHO has said let’s keep a watch on it. It’s a variant of interest. It’s not a variant of concern.”
When discussing the preventive measures, the former top scientist of WHO advised people to stay away from closed, congested areas with inadequate ventilation and to use masks. “If you have symptoms, stay at home. Wash your hands regularly. If you have prolonged symptoms then do visit the hospital…Masking is not mandatory but it should be voluntary. There are also common sense things, we should encourage each other,” she added.
Dr Swaminathan further addressed the hospitalizations, “When the number of cases go up, there is always a small percent of people who need to be hospitalised. So if you have 100 people with infections, 1 person may need to be hospitalised…if you have 1 lakh people, 100 may need to be hospitalized…So that way you will see there’s an increase in hospitalisation but hopefully it will not come to that this time.”
21 cases of the JN.1 Covid variant have been confirmed in India so far, generating concern and attention throughout the country. JN.1 is now considered to be a variation of interest by the World Health Organization (WHO), different from its parent lineage BA.2.86. The global health organization did, however, stress that, according to available data, the overall danger posed by JN.1 is still low.
