JN.1, the latest COVID-19 variant, has rapidly spread across the United States, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimating that the variant now accounts for over 60 percent of all cases.
No variant has surpassed the 50 percent mark in terms of all COVID cases since XBB1.5 (omicron subvariant, Kraken) was circulating.
Hospitalization rates have also increased over the past weeks. Researchers are still speculating about whether the JN.1 variant is causing the rise.
“Are the two [rise in hospitalizations and JN.1 cases] related or because people were present in large gatherings over Thanksgiving and Christmas, and they didn’t pay enough attention? So that’s why this is a little murky,” Dr. Stanley Perlman, professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa, told The Epoch Times.
Lingering Symptoms Reported
Hospitalizations have increased by roughly 20 percent, while deaths have increased by about 12 percent in recent weeks, according to the CDC.Dr. Keith Berkowitz, an internist based in New York who also practices telemedicine, said that COVID cases “have been off the charts” at his clinic since the week after Christmas.
Though he has not been able to verify if his patients have contracted the JN.1 variant, patients have needed more aggressive treatment.
The new wave also seems to be causing more lingering symptoms, with patients complaining of coughs and headaches for a week or longer. Before, most COVID infections would clear by then, with patients ready to resume normalcy within days.
“There’s a lot of nasal congestion,” Dr. Berkowitz said, adding that he has also seen more gastrointestinal problems, which were not so prevalent before.
In a few rare cases, he needed to prescribe patients oral steroids to bring down their inflammation—something he has not done in a very long time.
Symptoms are not too different from a bad flu, though, Dr. Berkowitz said.
Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University, said that the new wave appears to be causing generally mild disease.
“By mild, I mean not requiring hospitalization, although some of the people who’ve had an infection and have been miserable for three or four days, they wouldn’t necessarily call it mild,” Dr. Schaffner said.
Given its rapid transmission, the disease is reaching older people, those with underlying chronic medical conditions, and the immunosuppressed and immune-compromised, and it’s those populations that are fueling the hospital admissions, he said.
Few patients complain of a loss or change in taste and smell, Dr. Joseph Varon, a Texas-based pulmonary critical care specialist, told The Epoch Times.
“The primary concern is they say that they have a terrible headache and that it feels like somebody hit [them] with a baseball bat … which sounds, you know, very similar to like a bad flu,” said Dr. Varon, who is also a professor of medicine at the University of Houston.
He said that most of his patients, regardless of whether they contracted COVID, influenza, or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), generally recover within three to four days once they get treated with vitamins C and D, zinc, and melatonin—and if they can get it, ivermectin.
An Oddball Variant
JN.1 was dubbed the “odd man out” variant by scientist William Haseltine in a Forbes article.Mr. Haseltine compared JN.1 to XBB.1.5 and HV.1, which are current variants of interest.
While HV.1 was about 12 percent different from XBB.1.5, JN.1 is about 40 percent different.
XBB.1.5 is the variant from which the most recent booster is formulated.
A Potential Immune Evader
The different mutations JN.1 has from XBB1.5 have concerned some variant trackers about potential immune evasion.However, Dr. Perlman said it is hard to interpret the meaning of these mutations clinically.
“We know so much about the genetic makeup of these viruses, but we have a little less information about what this actually means,” he said. “We don’t have great explanations for some of the data. We don’t know why these changes in this particular virus might make the virus more transmissible or maybe slightly more virulent, if it is.”
When BA.2.86 was circulating in August 2023, some were concerned it would “escape” T-cell immunity. T cells are major immune cells.
Variant trackers on social media are concerned that, like Pirola, JN.1 could successfully evade the body’s immunity.
“We may still have immunity in other parts of the immune response,” said Dr. Perlman, adding that T cells and antibodies, such as blocking antibodies, may still be effective.
Dr. Berkowitz recommends salt water gargling and nasal rinses to protect oneself from infection.
Apart from reducing viral load, nasal rinses also help clear out the sinuses and may help reduce recovery time from infections. It is also important to stay hydrated while nursing an infection.
“I don’t want my patients to panic, but you would also not want to put your guard down and stop doing things that are proactive and preventative.”
Dr. Varon recommends supplementing with vitamins C and D.
Studies have shown that people with low vitamin D levels tend to be at a higher risk of COVID-19 infections and severe disease, and vitamin C is also a nutrient readily depleted during infections.
