COVID JN.1 variant: ‘Let's not take the virus lightly as…,’ ex-WHO official Soumya Swaminathan warns as cases surge

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Covid. "And I think we have enough data now from around the world to know that people who have suffered from Covid and, particularly those who have repeat infections, are more likely to get, for example, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, dementia, depression, mental health problems, prolonged fatigue and muscle pain... inability to go back to their usual state of functioning," she told the news channel Dr Swaminathan added, as quoted by NDTV, "So I would say let's not take it lightly.

She further asserted that we should remain ‘cautious’ but ‘not panic’. "I think what we need to do is try to take the normal preventive measures that we are all now familiar with. We were familiar with Omicron, so it's the same family.

So not much has changed, but 1 or 2 new mutations have come up. And that's why I think WHO has said let's keep a watch on it. It's a variant of interest.

It's not a variant of concern," she told news agency ANI. She further advised precautions to avoid infection, "Avoid being in a very closed environment with very poor ventilation with toxic people without a mask. So do wear a mask if you're in that type of very close setting because prolonged exposure to somebody infected increases the risk of infection" India has so far confirmed 21 cases of the JN.1 Covid variant, sparking both attention and concern across the nation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified JN.1 as a variant of interest, distinct from its parent lineage BA.2.86. However, the global health body emphasised that the overall risk posed by JN.1 remains low based on current evidence. Meanwhile, India on Thursday recorded 594 fresh COVID-19 infections - taking the number of active cases from 2,311 the previous day to 2,669,