MoH monitoring surge of JN.1 COVID variant globally

With spikes of COVID-19 currently being experienced by many countries around the world, some of which are linked to Guyana via travelling routes, local authorities have intensified their surveillance for the disease and its variants.
This includes new variants such as JN.1, which is surging in several countries such as the United States of America.
“For several countries of interest to Guyana, because of frequent travelling between our country and these countries, such as the USA, we note increasing trends of COVID-19 infections. In these countries, the rising incidence of COVID-19 has been mainly accounted for by a new Omicron COVID-19 variant,” said Dr Leslie Ramsammy, advisor to the Ministry of Health.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently named the strain, JN.1, a variant of concern – meaning that the global body is monitoring the variant closely,” the health advisor explained.
The WHO warns that the fast-spreading variant could lead to an uptick in cases during winter months as people spend more time indoors at family and group gatherings.

This fear of the WHO appears to be real as the cases have been mounting in countries such as the USA, correlating with the winter season. Based on studies done so far, JN.1 appears to have a high transmissible rate.
The good news is that symptoms appear less severe than other variants. “This might be a reflection of vaccines providing protection,” Dr Ramsammy opined.
Typically, illness starts with a sore throat, followed by congestion and a dry cough. People may also experience other symptoms such as a runny nose, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, fever, diarrhoea and an altered sense of smell.
However, Dr Ramsammy posited that “probably what is more important than the symptoms is who has it…”
“A patient who is older than 65 or is immunocompromised and persons who have not been recently vaccinated against COVID-19 may experience more serious symptoms like difficulty breathing.”
In this regard, he shared that “my advice and the MoH’s advice is that people should be extra vigilant this holiday season to avoid a new spike of cases in Guyana.”
For several months now, Guyana has seen a very low incidence rate of COVID-19. Nevertheless, Dr Ramsammy explained that health authorities are still on the lookout for cases of the novel coronavirus, and testing and vaccination services remain available.
“We advise citizens that the low incidence rate in Guyana at this time should not be an excuse to let our guards down. COVID-19 is still circulating in our country, as it is in every country in the world. In particular, given increased socialisation with family and community events during this festive season, our advice is that people should take precautions and follow all the anti-COVID-19 drills that the MoH has been recommending since 2020,” Dr Ramsammy has outlined.
“Frequent hand sanitisation and protection with masks for people who might have coughs and fevers etc, are still recommended,” he added.
From October 30 to November 5, the JN.1 subvariant was estimated to make up 3.3 per cent of global COVID-19 cases. Now, the WHO estimates it makes up 27.1 per cent of all COVID-19 cases worldwide as of December 19.
With JN.1’s sudden spike and its new designation as a “variant of interest” by the WHO, it may be hard not to feel worried about this recent variant.
But Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, has explained that this variant is just one of many that will continue to evolve from the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.
“I think many people have this assumption that one day, it will just stop mutating, but life never stops mutating, that’s how evolution works,” Adalja is quoted as saying in international reports. (Devina Samaroo)