Shadow of a Covid wave powered by JN.1 variant looms over early 2024

As cases of the new Omicron subvariant JN1 continue to rise globally including in India there is a fear among many about a possible Covid wave early next year that may derail normalcy once again Are these fears realIndia recorded 743 fresh cases of Covid19 in the last 24 hours as of Saturday The total active caseload increased by seven reaching 3997 according to the Union Health MinistryA total of 162 JN1 cases have been reported in India to date with Kerala reporting the highest number at 83With this the total count of coronavirus cases in India since its outbreak in January 2020 has reached 45012484 The death toll due to COVID19 cases in India has risen to 533358 reflecting seven deaths in the last 24 hoursGlobally cases of JN1 have been reported from the US some European countries Singapore and ChinaMaria Van Kerkhove COVID19 Technical Lead at WHO said on Saturday that from a limited number of countries reporting there has been a 35 per cent increase in Covid19 hospitalisations and ICU admissions in the last monthldquoSARSCoV2 influenza and other respiratory pathogens continue to be on the rise Take measures to protect yourself from infectionrdquo she advisedKerkhove said that JN1 continues to rise in detection but what matters is that Covid19 is circulating in all countriesldquoYou can protect yourself from infection and severe disease Mask ventilate test treat vaccinate boost every 612 months depending on your risk grouprdquo she posted on XAccording to Dr Soumya Swaminathan former DG Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR the JN1 Covid19 variant is more transmissible and infectious as compared to other variantsHowever ldquothe public health risk is still low because we all have immunity now because of the vaccines and the natural infections weve had in the pastrdquo she saidThe World Health Organisation WHO has classified JN1 as a separate variant of interest given its rapidly increasing spread but said it poses a low global public health riskAccording to Dr Ishwar Gilada Consultant in Infectious Diseases Unison Medicare and Research Centre Mumbai till JN1 becomes lsquovariant of concernrsquo VoC it should not bother the common manldquoIndia had managed the Covid19 pandemic much better than many powerful countries India had one of the best vaccination against Covid19 with 75 per cent of the population fully vaccinated and 35 per cent population having received booster third doserdquo he told IANSThe third wave orchestrated by the Omicron Variant mainly with the BA2 subvariant infected the majority of the population with least morbidity and mortalityIn fact BA2 was a saviour for India from infections with BA4 and BA5 as well as descendants of BA2 like BA286 Pirola We are much better prepared now than ever before Not only that India supports more than 50 countries in Africa and elsewhere with preparedness medicines and vaccinesrdquo he addedThough identified in August 2023 in Luxembourg and currently present in more than 40 countries JN1 has neither caused larger morbidity or any remarkable mortalityldquoDeaths are only in comorbid people globally There is neither clustering of infections with JN1 nor it is yet a dominant strain of coronavirus in India The presence of JN1 has not increased demand for oxygen beds ICU beds or ventilatorsrdquo said Dr GiladaExperts request masking for senior citizens and those with severe comorbidities as well as those going to crowded placesIndividuals with certain comorbidities face an elevated risk of severe outcomes and increased mortality from Covid Dr Vikas Chopra senior consultant interventional cardiologist Primus Super Specialty Hospital saidCommon comorbidities associated with higher death risk include cardiovascular diseases like hypertension and coronary artery disease chronic respiratory conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD diabetes obesity and compromised immune systems Dr Chopra saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever