Ireland's battle with Covid takes a new twist as sleep troubles join the symptoms list

Khalid Umar Malik
19 Apr 2024

DUBLIN, Ireland - Ireland's health officials have reported another surge in confirmed instances of the new JN.1 Covid strain.

One month ago, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) identified 1,264 cases of the strain.

On Thursday, it reported that known infections had increased by 169 to 1,433.

The HPSC warned that the JN.1 variety had "rapidly increased" since November, with "case numbers likely to increase further." On the other hand, it stated: "There is no indication of the impact of vaccine effectiveness or increased disease severity as compared to other circulating variants."

An update on COVID-19 in Ireland stated, "A novel variant with an exceptionally high number of mutations, BA.2.86, was initially found in Israel on August 13th, 2023, and eventually spread globally, albeit at a low prevalence. A sublineage of BA.2.86, JN.1, has evolved rapidly and become the most common worldwide.

Due to its rapid increase, the WHO designated it as a Variant of Interest on December 19th, 2023.

"The revised WHO risk assessment, published on February 9th, 2024, shows that it has some antigenic advantage, allowing it to avoid past immunization. However, while case numbers are anticipated to rise, there is no evidence of vaccine efficacy or increased illness severity compared to other circulating variations.

" Ireland has confirmed 1,433 COVID-19 individuals infected with the JN.1 lineage and sublineages. Of these instances, 497 (34.7%) were linked to outbreaks in hospitals or healthcare facilities. JN.1 and its sublineages currently comprise most of the sequenced cases in Ireland, accounting for 91.0% of sequences between weeks 8 and 12 of 2024.

"There have been 5,754 COVID-19 cases confirmed as infected with 'XBB.1.5-like' lineages in Ireland."

Meanwhile, while the JN.1 variety shares symptoms with prior strains, the UK's Office for National Statistics identified two new 'warning signs': difficulty in sleeping and worry/anxiety.