Updated 01.00 | Published 00.29
The whole world is now wondering what the super spreader JN.1 will mean this winter.
In Sweden, the variant is increasing rapidly week by week.
– The virus continues to develop. It’s still with us and we can’t ignore it, says Heidi Zapata of Yale Medicine.
The increase in Sweden of the variant JN.1, a subgroup of the omicron variant BA.2.86, is rapid, states the Public Health Authority (FHM) in its latest report.
It accounts for roughly 17 percent of all investigated covid cases in Sweden. Last week the figure was 13 percent.
Has increased ability
This week the World Health Organization (WHO) singled out Sweden as one of the countries where the new variant is increasing the most.
The other countries with the highest proportion of cases of JN.1 are the USA, UK, Canada, France and Singapore.
But the variant is about to take over the global spread of covid. And everywhere people wonder what the shift could mean for the spread of infection, the number of serious cases of illness and hospitalizations.
Most experts agree that the variant increases the spread of infection.
“Its growth advantage is deemed to come from a combination of mutations that give it an increased ability to bypass parts of the immune system,” writes The Public Health Agency in its latest report.
Need more information
CDC, the US counterpart to the Public Health Agency, writing in an update about the variant that JN.1’s rapid increase suggests that it is either more infectious or better at getting through our immune systems than other variants.
One also sees a greater number of cases of the variant among tourists, in sewage and in most parts of the world.
It is stated that as late as the end of October, JN.1 only accounted for 0.1 percent of all investigated covid cases in the United States.
Now it is believed that the variant can account for up to half of all cases in the country.
But much about the JN.1 is still unclear. At the moment, neither the FHM nor the CDC believe that the variant presents a more serious disease picture than previous variants.
“It’s too early to tell,” writes the CDC in its latest report.
“Remarkable spread”
It is also not possible to determine whether the symptoms differ from other variants.
Yale Medicine, Yale University Hospital, calls JN.1’s rapid increase “remarkable.”
– We don’t know much about this subgroup yet, says Heidi Zapata, a specialist in infectious diseases at Yale Medicine. to the university hospital’s own website.
– I would say that the most important thing for people to know is that the virus is out there.
– Every new variant is a sign that the virus continues to develop. It is still with us and we cannot ignore it.
Deaths with covid-19 are increasing
During week 48, 240 confirmed cases of death with covid-19 were reported in Sweden, writes FHM. So far, 191 and 157 confirmed cases have been reported deceased during weeks 49 and 50, respectively.
Those numbers may increase due to delays in reporting.
Over the previous three weeks, the average number of deaths per week was 193.
Among all deceased cases reported during weeks 45–48, 70 percent were 80 years or older.