‘Devious’ new Covid strain JN.1 declared ‘variant of interest’ amid ‘rapid spread’ in run-up to Christmas

A ‘DEVIOUS’ new Covid strain has been labelled a ‘variant of interest’ after it caused a swell in cases.

The JN.1 bug is ‘rapidly’ spreading in ‘multiple parts of the world’ in the run-up to Christmas, the World Health Organisation said.

The new bug could leave people more unwell than previous versions

It had previously been discovered in the UK, US, Iceland, Portugal, Spain and France, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US.

Experts have been careful to stress the risk posed by the strain is currently “low”.

“Based on the available evidence, the additional global public health risk posed by JN.1 is currently evaluated as low,” WHO wrote.

It’s believed to be an offshoot of the BA.2.86 Omicron variant, nicknamed “Pirola”.

The bug has not been found to lead to more severe symptoms than previous variants.

“JN.1 continues to be reported in multiple countries, and its prevalence has been rapidly increasing globally and now represents the vast majority of BA.2.86 descendent lineages reported,” the UN organisation added.

It said existing jabs continued to be effective against severe disease and death from JN.1 and other circulating variants.

However, scientists believe the bug could be more transmissible due to a new mutation not seen in previous versions.

It could also make people more unwell due to waning immunity.

Prof Peter Openshaw, from Imperial College London, told The BBC: “I’m hearing of people having nasty bouts of Covid, who are otherwise young and fit.

“It’s a surprisingly devious virus, sometimes making people quite ill and occasionally leading to having ‘long Covid’.”

Talking to The Sun earlier this week, he adds: “Immunity falls over time, and for many, it’s been over a year since they had their last booster jabs.”

Last winter, all over-50s could have one. Now, it is only the over-65s unless you are in an at-risk group.

The more a virus changes, the less effective antibodies are at fighting it.

“The virus circulating now is quite different from the one we saw in 2020,” Prof Peter says.

“The new virus has become so much better at transmitting from person to person, and it’s likely only going to get better.

“It’s also much better at evading the current immunity from infection and vaccination.”

COVID RATES RISING

The latest figure, which covers the week ending December 9, reveals that Covid cases increased by 39 per cent on the previous week.

Covid positivity rates increased to 7.5 per cent in England for the week ending December 14, from 6.4 per cent the previous week.

The rise in cases is the inevitable result of a change in how people live as the weather gets colder, experts tell The Sun.

“Everyone is getting inside, mixing with others and singing carols, creating conditions which make catching Covid much more likely,” Prof Peter explains.

Alongside Covid, there are a host of other viral infections that could also be making you ill this winter.

Data suggests flu positivity also increased significantly from 2.4 per cent to 5.6 per cent in the week ending December 14.

Professor Jonathan Ball of the London School of Tropical Medicine and the University of Nottingham told The Sun: “At this time of year, there’s a legion of [bugs] doing the rounds, but rarely do we test for them.

“So if you are unfortunate enough to get flu or a cold on top of Covid, that may be unpleasant.”

According to the CDC latest estimates, JN.1 currently makes up between 15 per cent – 29 per cent of cases in the UK.