The Ministry of Health has assured there is no cause for alarm at the moment regarding the spread of the JN.1 Covid strain in the country.
The JN.1 variant was identified as a variant of interest in December last year. The variant is said to be a descendant of BA.2.86 that has acquired the ability to transmit efficiently through an additional one or two mutations.
It reportedly retains the immune evasion capabilities of its parent but has now mutated to transmit more efficiently, according to experts.
On Thursday, Health DG Patrick Amoth stated that current data indicates no immediate concerns about the variant in Kenya.
“Covid has always been here with us since the first day that it was declared a pandemic. The new variant JN.1 is a subvariant of the omicron variant,” Amoth said.
He said the Health Ministry passivelysly conducts surveillance to stay on top of any developments.
“We are doing passive surveillance from our surveillance sites the numbers so far are not anything to worry about,” he
The DG further noted that the country can handle any health emergency based on the capacity built during the Covid-19 pandemic and the lessons learned at that time.
