COVID variant JN.1 listed as ‘variant of interest’ by World Health Organization

The World Health Organization has classified the COVID JN.1 variant as a "variant of interest."

A COVID variant known as JN.1 has been listed as a separate "variant of interest" by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The omicron sub variant was previously classified under its parent strain, BA.2.86, which prompted concern among some scientists earlier this year due to its high number of mutations.

There is no evidence that JN.1 causes any more severe disease, and existing tests, vaccines and treatments are still expected to work, experts say.

"We know that the COVID virus continues to change. And even in the last few weeks, it has changed again," Dr. Mandy Cohen, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told ABC News.

"The good news is that, that new change to the virus...one, we can still pick it up with our tests. Two, our treatments are still effective against that change. And importantly, the updated COVID vaccine that you can get right now is still good coverage for those changes – we've seen that in the lab," Cohen added.