What to know about the winter Covid wave caused by variant JN.1

The JN.1 coronavirus is now dominant, and CDC wastewater data suggests that Covid activity may have surpassed last winter’s. But hospitalizations remain lower.

The fastest-spreading coronavirus variant, JN.1, now makes up 62% of Covid cases in the U.S., according to data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Two weeks ago, the variant made up 39% of cases, and four weeks ago, it made up 21%. 

“It is making a fairly precipitous rise. There’s no question about it,” said Dr. Thomas Russo, chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Wastewater data suggests that this winter’s Covid activity has surpassed last winter’s, according to preliminary CDC estimates. But the data comes with caveats: It only measures activity among people connected to a municipal sewer system and who are participating in the program. By the CDC’s count, this comes out to about 40% of the U.S. population.

In recent days, some doctors and scientists have warned that this winter’s outbreak appears to be the largest since the original omicron wave two years ago.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/know-winter-covid-wave-caused-variant-jn1-rcna131453

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