Stanislaus County health officials watch for signs of fast-spreading COVID-19 variant

Ken Carlson
·2 min read
3

A COVID-19 subvariant being watched by health experts most recently accounted for more than 60% of coronavirus cases in the western region of the United States.

In Stanislaus County, public health officials don’t have many tools for local tracking of COVID-19 variants, including the closely watched JN.1, an offshoot of the BA.2.86 omicron variant.

So far, it’s not the variant with the highest or fastest-growing proportion of cases in Central California.

But the JN.1 variant is driving an overall increase of COVID-19 infections, according to a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health blog this month. It evades immunity like BA.2.86 but also has mutations allowing it to spread person-to-person more easily.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in December there’s no evidence that JN.1 causes more severe illness or poses more risk than other variants of the virus causing COVID-19 illness. But with repeated infections, there always is a risk of suffering “long COVID” symptoms for months.

The symptoms associated with JN.1 are virtually the same as other omicron strains. It may start with a sore throat, leading to congestion, runny nose, cough, muscle aches and chills. Severe COVID symptoms requiring emergency medical attention include trouble breathing, persistent chest pain, confusion or inability to stay awake.

The CDC said updated vaccines for COVID-19 should provide protection against the different variants, including JN.1.

Hospitals in Stanislaus County are feeling the impact of the COVID-19 and seasonal flu circulating in the community at the same time, as total cases have been increasing.

Kamlesh Kaur, a county health educator, said admissions for COVID-19 were increasing until just recently. The latest count was 23 patients hospitalized, including three receiving intensive care.

The county’s test positivity, as of Jan. 11, was 7.98%, which was lower than the statewide average. The wastewater testing for evidence of COVID on Jan. 6 represented a 14% decrease compared to the previous two weeks.