The JN.1 Covid variant, which has now been named Juno, is believed to be responsible for the recent rise in Covid cases globally. It accounted for 70 percent of cases in the UK on January 6. This was up from 3 percent at the start of November.
But the latest figures released by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) suggested Covid infections fell by 25 percent in the two weeks after January 3.
The UKHSA said figures over Christmas and New Year should be treated with caution “in the light of changes in patterns of healthcare use, social mixing and lagged reporting due to the holidays”.
Some experts have warned cases could rise again as children go back to school and adults return to work.
The UK could be set to see three more Covid waves this year. Paul Hunter, professor in Medicine at the University of East Anglia, told i: “We will almost certainly see another wave next winter and probably one or more peaks between now and then.”
But the waves will likely be smaller in terms of case numbers.
The most recent wave peaked in December with more than four percent of the population infected.
The Juno variant has been named the most dominant variant in the world right now by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Professor Hunter added: “It is still possible that we get a new variant that would push up infections though I don’t think we would see much of an increase in severe disease.”
Covid infections tend to be milder than they were in previous years due to immunity through prior infections and vaccinations.
Professor Hunter, who is a member of the National Institute for Health Research’s Health Protection Research Unit, explained: “I suspect a greater proportion of these infections will be asymptomatic than we were seeing last time we measured that over a year ago.”
Steve Griffin, professor of Cancer Virology at Leeds University’s School of Medicine, said: “I’m afraid I see much the same pattern for 2024 as we did in 2023.
“Covid’s continued rapid and seemingly limitless evolutionary capacity means we have multiple waves every year.
“Thankfully, the number of people succumbing to acute infection has fallen to around half the 2022 level during 2023, which was approximately half of 2021.”
Professor Karl Friston, a virus modeller at University College London, added: “The most likely trajectory will be a lull in the summer with prevalence of less than one per cent with a resurgence next winter of about half the number of cases of the current wave.”
Everything we know about current dominant strain Juno
The variant was first detected in France and the US before making its way to the UK.
It was first tracked as part of the BA.1.86 ‘Pirola’ strain, but it has now been classified as a sub variant by the WHO, as well as a variant of interest due to rising case numbers.
The WHO said the strain poses a relatively low risk to public health, especially in well-vaccinated countries.
But the rapid spread could indicate it’s more transmissible than previous strains.
The symptoms are said to be similar to other Covid variants. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent list of symptoms include:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea