WHO declares new JN.1 COVID strain a "variant of interest." Here's what that means.

The World Health Organization announced Tuesday it would step up its classification of the new COVID-19 variant JN.1 to a standalone "variant of interest," after tracking the strain's rapid ascent around the world. Health officials have been careful to say that JN.1 has so far not been found to lead to different or more severe symptoms compared to previous variants.

However, the WHO said JN.1's "rapidly increasing spread" in multiple parts of the world was enough to warrant ungrouping the strain from its slower-moving ancestor BA.2.86.

"JN.1 continues to be reported in multiple countries, and its prevalence has been rapidly increasing globally and now represents the vast majority of BA.2.86 descendent lineages reported," the WHO wrote.