PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The virus that causes COVID-19 continues to mutate around the world. A Philadelphia-area virology specialist says staying current with COVID-19 vaccination should keep people safe from severe infection.
The JN.1 variant is now the most prominent in the world, according to the World Health Organization.
“This virus, SARS‑CoV‑2 virus, continues to evolve,” says Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia pediatrician Dr. Paul Offit, who is also a member of the FDA’s immunization advisory committee.
“The JN.1 strain is sort of an offshoot of a previous Omicron variant, called the BA.2.86 strain,” Offit said. It is an omicron variant, so he says current vaccines should still provide some protection.
“But even if you've been naturally infected or vaccinated, you still might get a mild infection,” Offit said.
“The goal of the vaccine is to prevent you from going to the hospital, from going to the ICU, and from dying. That is the goal of this vaccine. So as long as that goal is met, then the vaccine is working,” he said.
Offit says people who are vulnerable, including people over 75 years old and pregnant women, should consider getting boosted.
“If you're less than 75, and you're otherwise healthy, you need to have had at least three doses of this vaccine — or two doses plus a natural infection should provide reasonably long term protection against serious disease.”
Offit says he expects the coronavirus is here to stay.
“There's four strains of human coronaviruses that circulate, all also originally derived from animals, and one of them entered the human population in the late 1700s and other in the late 1800s," he said. "I think it's fair to say this virus is going to be with us for a while.”