Current:Home > ContactCOVID variant JN.1 is not more severe, early CDC data suggests -NextFrontier Finance
COVID variant JN.1 is not more severe, early CDC data suggests
View
Date:2025-04-28 00:06:26
Early data from hospitals suggests the latest COVID variant, known as JN.1, is not leading to more severe disease, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said Monday, as the agency has tracked the strain's steep rise to an estimated 85.7% of COVID-19 cases nationwide.
The agency is still waiting for more weeks of data to lay out its more detailed assessment of JN.1's impact this season, the CDC official, Dr. Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner, said at a webinar with testing laboratories hosted by the agency this week.
Asked if JN.1's symptoms seemed to be more severe compared to previous waves, he said "there are early signals that that may not be the case," based on electronic medical record cohorts and other data.
"Now, it's important to remember that how a virus affects an individual is a unique 'n' of one," he added. "It could be very severe. People could die from a virus that, to the general population, may be milder."
Azziz-Baumgartner told the webinar the CDC hopes to release more details about JN.1's severity "during the next couple weeks" as more data on the virus accumulates.
So far, the CDC has been careful to say that there was "no evidence" JN.1 was causing more severe disease, even as it contributed to the spread of the virus this winter.
It is not clear when the CDC's new assessment of JN.1 is scheduled to be published. A CDC spokesperson was not able to immediately respond to a request for comment.
Scientists at the CDC and other federal health agencies have also so far not moved to deem JN.1 a standalone "variant of interest," in a break from the WHO's decision to step up its classification of the lineage last month.
The WHO said Friday that there were "currently no reported laboratory or epidemiological reports" linking JN.1 or its other variants of interest to increased disease severity.
CDC's early findings about JN.1 come as the agency has begun to see a slowing of respiratory virus trends after a peak over the winter holidays.
The agency's disease forecasters also concluded earlier this month that JN.1's spread did not warrant them stepping up their assessment of COVID-19's threat this winter, noting hospitalization rates appeared to be lower than they were last season.
COVID-19 hospitalizations this season continued to outpace influenza nationwide, the agency's data suggests, and weekly rates of both stopped short of topping previous record highs.
Azziz-Baumgartner cautioned data lags could be muddying the picture, as hospitals catch up on delayed reporting of their weekly admissions. Officials have also been closely watching for possible signs of a renewed increase in the spread of influenza, as has been seen in some previous seasons before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some jurisdictions have also been reporting a strain on hospitals, especially in New England, he said. CDC figures tally the region's hospital capacity rate as the worst in the country.
Massachusetts General Hospital warned last week it was taking steps to address an "unprecedented overcrowding" crisis, along with other hospitals in the state.
Alexander TinAlexander Tin is a digital reporter for CBS News based in the Washington, D.C. bureau. He covers the Biden administration's public health agencies, including the federal response to infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19.
TwitterveryGood! (798)
Related
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- Starbucks accidentally sends your order is ready alerts to app users
- Get $112 Worth of Tarte Cosmetics Iconic Shape Tape Products for Just $20
- Can the World’s Most Polluting Heavy Industries Decarbonize?
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Planet Money Records Vol. 3: Making a hit
- 'This is Us' star Mandy Moore says she's received streaming residual checks for 1 penny
- After It Narrowed the EPA’s Authority, Talks of Expanding the Supreme Court Garner New Support
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Planet Money Records Vol. 3: Making a hit
Ranking
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Special counsel's office contacted former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey in Trump investigation
- Bills RB Nyheim Hines will miss the season after being hit by a jet ski, AP source says
- GM will stop making the Chevy Camaro, but a successor may be in the works
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- As Lake Powell Hits Landmark Low, Arizona Looks to a $1 Billion Investment and Mexican Seawater to Slake its Thirst
- Jack Daniel's v. poop-themed dog toy in a trademark case at the Supreme Court
- Still trying to quit that gym membership? The FTC is proposing a rule that could help
Recommendation
Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
NASCAR Star Jimmie Johnson's 11-Year-Old Nephew & In-Laws Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide
After Ida, Louisiana Struggles to Tally the Environmental Cost. Activists Say Officials Must Do Better
Big Oil’s Top Executives Strike a Common Theme in Testimony on Capitol Hill: It Never Happened
Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
Janet Yellen says the U.S. is ready to protect depositors at small banks if required
Police arrest 85-year-old suspect in 1986 Texas murder after he crossed border to celebrate birthday
Miami woman, 18, allegedly tried to hire hitman to kill her 3-year-old son