SARS-CoV-2's sub-variant JN.1 discovered in Ho Chi Minh City

An infectious disease surveillance group from the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) found the sub-variant in December after analysing specimens of 16 patients positive to SARS-CoV-2 treated at the city Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Nga said at a conference on January 24.

The group said that 12 out of the 16 patients, or 75%, were infected with the JN.1 sub-variant, while one was infected with the JN.1.1 variant, two with BA.2.86.1 and one with XDD.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) classified JN.1 as a sub-variant of BA.2.86 variant of the Omicron strain of coronavirus, belonging to the group of variants with concern.

Particularly, the group warned that the number of hospitalised COVID-19 cases has been rising in the recent six weeks.

Statistics from the HCDC showed that from December 18, 2023 to January 22, 2024, hospitals across the city received 94 COVID-19 cases, and no deaths were reported.

The Ministry of Health reported that last year, Vietnam recorded 99,000 COVID-19 cases, down 82.4 times from that in 2022, with no deaths. In the first two weeks of 2024, 419 cases were discovered.

Associate Pro. Dr. Duong Thi Hong, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology said that the institute has inventoried more than 432,000 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines that will expire in late September 2024.