A “DEVIOUS” new Covid strain now accounts for almost two thirds of new cases, figures suggest.
The JN.1 bug, an offshoot of Omicron, has been rapidly spreading in the UK in recent weeks.
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It now accounts for 65 per cent of all cases, up from four per cent in early November, according to the latest data from COG-UK.
As people continue to socialise inside, cases are likely to continue rising, experts have said, and may even reach new record highs.
“We can expect to see more people suffering from infections with JN .1 over the coming weeks as a consequence of more indoor mixing due to the cold weather and the return of pupils to school,” Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, told inews.
“The good news is that early evidence indicates that the updated booster jab will provide some protection from severe infection with JN.1.
“But the problem is that most people haven’t received this booster jab and have waning immunity.”
Professor Christina Pagel of University College London (UCL), added: “Unfortunately, it is likely that this JN.1 wave has not yet peaked and will peak mid-January, either next week or the week after.
“I am sure this wave will rival the first two Omicron waves in 2022 and might even exceed them.”
The current record for Covid cases was set in April 2022, when 7.6 per cent of the UK population was infected with the virus, according to ONS data, followed by January 2022, when 6.9 per cent were infected.
Although JN.1 is believed to be more infectious than the other Covid subvariants circulating in the UK at the moment, there is no evidence that it causes more severe disease.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been careful to stress the risk posed by the strain is currently “low”.
“Based on the available evidence, the additional global public health risk posed by JN.1 is currently evaluated as low,” the UN organisation wrote in a report last month.
However, emerging anecdotal evidence suggests the new bug could also make people more unwell due to waning immunity.
Prof Peter Openshaw, from Imperial College London, told the BBC: “I’m hearing of people having nasty bouts of Covid, who are otherwise young and fit.
“It’s a surprisingly devious virus, sometimes making people quite ill and occasionally leading to having ‘long Covid’.”
Talking to The Sun earlier this month, he said: “Immunity falls over time, and for many, it’s been over a year since they had their last booster jabs.”
Last winter, all over-50s could be vaccinated. Now, it is only the over-65s, unless you are in an at-risk group.
The more a virus changes, the less effective antibodies are at fighting it.
“The virus circulating now is quite different from the one we saw in 2020,” Prof Peter said.
“The new virus has become so much better at transmitting from person to person, and it’s likely only going to get better.
“It’s also much better at evading the current immunity from infection and vaccination.”
The 7 latest symptoms to look out for
Some of the illness’s classic symptoms, like a runny nose and a cough, are still about.
But loss of taste and smell – once a hallmark sign of the bug – is only reported by two to three per cent of infected Brits, according to the winter Covid report from the Office For National Statistics (ONS) in the UK.
Meanwhile, fever, another typical symtom of older variants, was only experienced by two per cent of people.
ONS scientists suggest that anxiety can also be a sign that someone has the bug – though experts don’t know exactly why.
Almost 10 per cent of Brits with Covid have consistently reported anxiety, excess worrying or trouble sleeping since early November.
However, the most common symptom of JN.1 variant was runny nose, with 31 per cent of patients reporting the symptom, the report said.
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Meanwhile, 23 per cent of people reported experiencing a cough, and 20 per cent a headache.
Nearly 20 per cent of people with the bug reported weakness and fatigue, 16 per cent reported experiencing muscle aches, and 13 per cent had a sore throat.