Union Health Minister Holds Review Meet On Preparedness To Tackle New Covid Variant

The Health Ministry, in a review meeting involving health ministers from various states, underscored the need for a "Whole Of Government" approach to effectively combat the emerging JN.1 coronavirus variant. The World Health Organisation (WHO), in its latest classification on Tuesday, designated the JN.1 coronavirus strain as a "variant of interest." However, reassuringly, the organization stated that, based on current evidence, the global public health risk posed by JN.1 is currently evaluated as low. The virus is part of the parent lineage BA.2.86 and was initially classified as a variant of interest.