TEHRAN –JN.1, which is a descendant of the Omicron or B.1.1.529 variant of SARS-CoV-2, has not yet been reported in Iran.

“According to the tests taken from hospitalized respiratory cases, about 30 percent is due to influenza, some 10 percent is caused by coronavirus and the rest is because of other respiratory viruses,” ISNA quoted Babak Eshrati, an official with the health ministry, as saying.

JN.1 ‘variant of interest’

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has said it is continuously monitoring the global spread of JN.1, a COVID-19 variant of interest, adding that current vaccines continue to offer protection against severe disease and death from this and other variants in circulation.

According to the classification of JN.1 as a separate variant of interest (VOI) is down to “its rapidly increasing spread” around the globe.

JN.1 has been found in many countries, including India, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In comparison with its parent lineage BA.2.86, JN.1 has an additional mutation (the L455S mutation) in the spike protein.

MT/MG