SARS-CoV-2’s sub-variant JN.1 discovered in HCM City
SARS-CoV-2’s sub-variant JN.1, a variant of concern, has been found in COVID-19 patients hospitalised in Ho Chi Minh City in December 2023, according to Deputy Director of the city Centre for Disease Control (HCDC) Le Hong Nga.
Hanoi (VNA) – SARS-CoV-2’s sub-variant JN.1, a variant of concern, hasbeen found in COVID-19 patients hospitalised in Ho Chi Minh City in December2023, according to Deputy Director of the city Centre for Disease Control (HCDC) LeHong Nga.
An infectious disease surveillance group from the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU)found the sub-variant in December after analysing specimens of 16 patientspositive to SARS-CoV-2 treated at the city Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Ngasaid at a conference on January 24.
The group said that 12 out of the 16 patients, or 75%, wereinfected with the JN.1 sub-variant, while one was infected with the JN.1.1variant, two with BA.2.86.1 and one with XDD.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) classified JN.1 as a sub-variantof BA.2.86 variant of the Omicron strain of coronavirus, belonging to the groupof variants with concern.
Particularly, the group warned that the number ofhospitalised COVID-19 cases has been rising in the recent six weeks.
Statistics from the HCDC showed that from December 18, 2023to January 22, 2024, hospitals across the city received 94 COVID-19 cases, andno deaths were reported.
The Ministry of Health reported that last year, Vietnamrecorded 99,000 COVID-19 cases, down 82.4 times from that in 2022, with nodeaths. In the first two weeks of 2024, 419 cases were discovered.
Associate Pro. Dr. Duong Thi Hong, Deputy Director of the NationalInstitute of Hygiene and Epidemiology said that the institute has inventoried morethan 432,000 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines that will expire in lateSeptember 2024./.
Vietnam has detected a number of new, highly-contagious Omicron sub-variants, including BA.2.74, said the General Department of Preventive Medicine on August 17.
Chief Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Vietnam Dr Angela Pratt on January 6 warned that the fight against COVID-19 is not over yet as many people are getting infected, hospitalised, and dead in many countries around the world.
The Ministry of Health has sent a dispatch to authorities of centrally-run cities and provinces requesting active response to COVID-19 as the number of new infected cases globally surged by 80% last month.
The Ministry of Health’s Department of Preventive Medicine on January 16 asked localities nationwide to keep a close watch on the disease situation in the face of complex developments of infectious diseases, especially respiratory ones, around the world.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health reported on January 24 that the city's infectious disease surveillance system has detected the emergence of sub-variant JN.1 of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in hospitalised patients in December last year in the locality.
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The project aimed to enable early detection and reduce the risk of dangerous complications, targeting patients with chronic diabetes, cardiovascular conditions and metabolic disorders.
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All eligible patients will receive surgical interventions and post-operative care in accordance with Vietnamese medical standards and global care protocols.
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The Red Journey has become the country’s largest and most effective blood donation campaign, leaving a strong impression on the national voluntary blood donation movement.
This case marks the ninth fetal cardiac intervention conducted in HCM City, and it was considered the most technically demanding to date due to the fetus’s extremely early gestational age and the severity of the condition as diagnosed with aortic atresia.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place one day after the VNVC Vaccine JS Company and Sanofi Group exchanged cooperation documents on vaccine production technology transfer under the witness of State President Luong Cuong and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Vietnam’s traditional medicine took centre stage at the International Congress Biopharm Nonclinical Development, BioNCiD 2025, held on May 25-26 in the Cuban city of Varadero, amid growing global interest in sustainable healthcare solutions.
Under the agreement, VNVC and Sanofi will gradually implement technology transfers to enable domestic production of several key Sanofi vaccines that are widely used in Vietnam. In addition, Sanofi will support VNVC in training human resources and quality management in vaccine research and manufacturing.
Despite the ongoing global circulation and unpredictable developments of SARS-CoV-2, the World Health Organisation (WHO) hasn’t issued new warnings about COVID-19, said the Ministry of Health.
Illustrative photo (Photo: Nhandan.vn) 
