This is the year that the COVID-19 pandemic was declared to be no longer a global health emergency.
But even though case counts are down in 2023, it’s not as if everything is back to normal. There is, for example, a new omicron variant that was first detected in late summer and has spread significantly in recent weeks. It’s called JN.1, and health officials have now classified it as a variant of interest. And a frequently asked question is:
How worried should we be about JN.1?
Health officials are not sounding the alarm. The World Health Organization says the overall risk is low.
Based on the limited evidence, JN.1 seems comparable to other circulating omicron variants and doesn’t appear to cause more severe disease.
COVID vaccines, including the updated booster, continue to provide protection against severe illness and death. In the U.S., hospital admissions for COVID-19 have been climbing since early November.