JN.1 now the 'fastest-growing' COVID variant in the US

NEW YORK -- The CDC is warning that the coronavirus subvariant JN.1 is now the "fastest-growing" variant in the US.

It's now causing about 20% of new COVID-19 infections in the country and is dominant in the Northeast, where it is estimated to be the cause of about a third of new cases.

Variant trackers say they expect JN.1 to become the leading coronavirus variant around the world in a matter of weeks.

The World Health Organization named it a variant of interest on Tuesday because of its "rapidly increasing spread" but noted that the additional public health risk remains low.

The heavily mutated JN.1 also appears to be getting an assist from holiday travel and waning immunity from previous Covid shots, health experts say.

Along with getting the COVID-19 vaccine, "simple things people can do like hand-washing, masking around high-risk people, or if you're not feeling great, stay home. Those are pretty low-level things we all have the power to do," said Dr. Kurt Williamson, an associate professor in the biology department at the College of William & Mary.

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