After enjoying a relatively Covid-19-free existence for over two years, recent concerns have surfaced due to a spike in coronavirus cases in the past few days. The detection of JN.1, a sub-variant of Covid-19, spreading in the US and China, has added to these worries, especially since it has now been identified in Kerala, India. Acting promptly, the Centre has issued alerts to states, urging them to enhance testing efforts, including a higher frequency of RT-PCR tests. Positive samples are to be sent for genome sequencing to INSACOG laboratories. The initial case of JN.1 was identified in a positive RT-PCR sample in Karakulam, Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala, on December 8, 2023. India has reported 260 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours. The World Health Organization on Tuesday classified the JN.1 coronavirus strain as a "variant of interest" but said it did not pose much threat to public health.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 After enjoying a relatively COVID-19-free existence for over two years, recent concerns
00:08 have surfaced due to a spike in coronavirus cases in the past few days.
00:13 The detection of JN.1, a sub-variant of COVID-19 spreading in the US and China, has added to
00:20 these worries, especially since it has now been identified in Kerala, India.
00:25 Acting promptly, the Centre has issued alerts to states urging them to enhance testing efforts,
00:30 including a higher frequency of RT-PCR tests.
00:35 Positive samples are to be sent for genome sequencing to INSECOG laboratories.
00:40 The initial case of JN.1 was identified in a positive RT-PCR sample in Karakulam, Thiruvananthapuram
00:46 district, Kerala, on December 8, 2023.
00:49 India has reported 260 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours.
00:55 The World Health Organization on Tuesday classified the JN.1 coronavirus strain as a "variant
01:01 of interest" but said it did not pose much threat to public health.
01:06 "Based on the available evidence, the additional global public health risk posed by JN.1 is
01:12 currently evaluated as low," said WHO.
01:16 JN.1 was previously classified as a variant of interest as a part of its parent lineage
01:21 BA.2.86.
01:22 The United Nations Agency has assured that existing vaccines continue to offer protection
01:28 against severe disease and death caused by JN.1 and other prevalent variants of the COVID-19
01:34 virus.
01:35 The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported this month that the JN.1 sub-variant
01:41 constitutes an estimated 15% to 29% of cases in the US as of December 8, according to the
01:49 latest projections.
01:50 The CDC emphasized that at present, there is no evidence indicating that JN.1 poses
01:56 an increased risk to public health compared to other circulating variants.
02:00 Furthermore, the agency suggested that an updated vaccine could further ensure protection
02:05 against the JN.1 variant.
02:07 JN.1 was initially identified in the US in September, as reported by the CDC.
02:12 Recently, China identified seven infections caused by this COVID sub-variant.
02:17 JN.1 variant, a descendant of the Parola variant, that is BA.2.86, came to the world's attention
02:23 over the summer because of the large number of changes to its spike proteins.
02:28 This variant has only one change to its spike protein compared with its ancestor, but that
02:33 seems to have been enough to make it a fitter and faster virus.
02:38 According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccinations targeting the
02:42 spike protein of a virus should also function against JN.1 and BA.2.86.
02:48 A majority of these cases are clinically mild, and the patients are recovering on their own
02:53 at their homes without any treatment.
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