New COVID variant JN.1 makes nearly half latest infections in U.S.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- A new coronavirus subvariant JN.1 is spreading fast in the United States, and is now accounting for nearly half of the latest COVID-19 cases in the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

JN.1 is currently the fastest growing variant and the dominant one in the country. It is responsible for over 44 percent of new infections across the country, up from the previously reported 21.4 percent, according to the CDC.

The CDC estimates that JN.1 is strongest in the Northeast regions including New Jersey and New York, where it accounts for nearly 57 percent of cases.

JN.1 is closely related to the variant BA.2.86 that the CDC has been tracking since August. It was first detected in the United States in September 2023.

JN.1 is likely more transmissible than other variants "or better at evading our immune systems than other circulating variants," said the CDC.