What Is JN.1? The New Covid Variant That Has Sparked Worry Among Scientists

The JN.1 strain of coronavirus has recently been detected in the United States and in 11 other countries, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Scientists across the world are worried about a new COVID-19 variant that could be more infectious and could evade vaccine immunity. The JN.1 strain of coronavirus has recently been detected in the United States and in 11 other countries, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This variant is causing a surge in infections worldwide yet again and raising alarm bells among health authorities.

According to experts, the new Covid variant is a descendant of BA.2.86, also known as 'Pirola' - which came from Omicron. "Neither JN.1 nor BA.2.86 is common in the United States right now. In fact, JN.1 has been detected so rarely that it makes up fewer than 0.1 percent of SARS-CoV-2 viruses," CDC wrote on its site. 

There is only a single change between JN.1 and BA.2.86 and that is in the spike protein. The spike protein - called a "spike" because it looks like tiny spikes on the virus' surface - plays a crucial role in helping the virus infect people," the CDC explained, adding, "Because of this, the spike protein is also the part of a virus that vaccines target, meaning vaccines should work against JN.1 and BA.2.86 similarly".