WASHINGTON - The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Dec 22 that Covid-19 subvariant JN.1 accounts for 39 per cent to 50 per cent of cases in the United States as of Dec 23, according to the agency’s projections.

This is an increase from the estimated 15 per cent to 29 per cent of cases in the United States, the CDC had projected as of Dec 8.

The CDC said the variant continues to cause an increasing share of infections and is now the most widely circulating variant in the country.

The continued growth suggests the variant is either more transmissible or better at evading immune systems than other circulating variants, it added.

It is too early to know whether or to what extent JN.1 will cause an increase in infections or hospitalizations, the CDC said, adding that existing vaccines, tests, and treatments still work well against it.

On Dec 19, the World Health Organisation classified JN.1 as a “variant of interest” and said current evidence shows risk to public health was low from the strain. REUTERS