India Covid panel head clarifies on Kerala death amid JN.1 subvariant scare

India logged 260 fresh covid cases on Monday with one death reported from Kerala, where the JN.1 subvariant of the coronavirus was recently detected. Many countries have reported an increase in covid cases related to JN.1 subvariant. The centre today issued an advisory to states asking them to maintain a vigil over the COVID situation and ensure adequate testing including higher number of RT-PCR tests and send positive samples for genome sequencing to INSACOG laboratories, a network of genomic laboratories that tracks genomic variants of the virus.

Dr. NK Arora, the chief of the Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), has stated that the recent death in Kerala was not solely caused by COVID-19 but rather by multiple underlying health conditions, news agency ANI quoted him as saying. The deceased had severe comorbidities such as heart, lung, and kidney diseases, and these conditions were the primary cause of death, according to Dr. Arora.

Dr. Arora told the public that there is no need to panic about the JN.1 subvariant. Although the number of samples collected is relatively low, they are being collected from all states for analysis. Dr. Arora stressed that INSACOG is closely monitoring the situation, studying the epidemiology and clinical behavior of the virus.


In response to the surge in respiratory diseases and the emergence of the JN.1 COVID subvariant, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has emphasized the need for member states to maintain strong surveillance and share sequencing data. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's COVID-19 technical lead, explained the reasons behind the recent surges in respiratory infections. Kerkhove highlighted that various pathogens, including COVID-19, flu, rhinovirus, mycoplasma pneumonia, and others, are contributing to the increase in respiratory diseases.

She also mentioned that the winter season and holiday gatherings are factors that facilitate the spread of these pathogens. Kerkhove emphasized that COVID-19 is evolving and changing globally, with sublineages like XBB and JN.1 accounting are for a significant number of cases. To address this evolving situation, Kerkhove urged member states to continue surveillance and sequence sharing, enabling appropriate measures to be taken.

She also emphasized the importance of vaccination and seeking clinical care in case of infection. All COVID-19 vaccines, including those for the JN.1 subvariant, continue to provide protection against severe disease and death, according to Kerkhove.