JN.1 variant ’doing better than its siblings’, but not causing severe disease: virologist Gagandeep Kang 

A branch of a tree that is seen to be growing faster, is how virologist Gagandeep Kang explains the JN.1 sub-variant of the Covid-19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus.

As questions swirl around the emerging virus variant, Kang says, JN.1 is “doing better than it’s siblings”, but is not seen to be causing severe disease.

Echoing the public health precautions being advised by Governments, she said, they are not just Covid-specific, and are, in fact, useful to protect against respiratory pathogens, especially in winter.

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Every time a new variant of the Covid-causing virus emerges, there is concern on whether an additional dose of a variant-specific vaccine, or a booster is required. But, “it is hard playing catch-up with a virus that evolves so quickly,” Kang, adjunct faculty at CMC Vellore, told businessline.

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Balancing burdens

She, instead, points to the balance health authorities need to maintain between disease-burden and investment, especially in resource-constrained countries. The country will need to decide how it invests in public health – where infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and drug-resistant typhoid, for example, are, alongside a virus that is now seen to not cause severe disease. “We need to understand our population with our own studies,” she says, stressing the need for stable surveillance to be able to calibrate an appropriate health response.

‘Makes little sense’

With JN.1, the response is as it should be, she says, pointing to efforts to track the virus-variant, besides public health advisories, including masking. Going by the infection seen so far, she said, an additional dose of a vaccine based on the old strain of the virus “makes little sense”.

There are updated vaccines advised in other countries, from Moderna and Pfizer, besides Novavax, she said. In fact, India’s Serum Institute has an alliance with the American biotech firm Novavax and is planning to seek regulatory approvals in India for its XBB.1- variant specific Covid-19 vaccine, given the similarities with JN.1, the vaccine-maker told this correspondent.

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Explaining the dominance of the Omicron-variant of SARS-CoV-2, Kang said, “Omicron has out-beaten Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, now there’s nothing else.” JN.1, reported to be behind the rising Covid-19 cases, is an Omicron sub-variant. Kang is Director, Global Health, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

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