Bahrain has become one of the first countries to offer the latest Pfizer XBB 1.5 booster shot as a defence against Covid-19 and its new variants.
The World Health Organisation has reported a 52 per cent increase in new Covid cases over the past four weeks, with over 850,000 new cases recorded.
With over 3,000 fatalities, concerns have risen over the emergence of the JN. 1 variant, which accounts for 44.1 per cent of Covid-19 cases globally.
JN. 1 was listed as a separate “variant of interest” this week after it was found in China, India and the US. The first case of JN. 1 was recorded in the US in September.
JN. 1 is descended from the Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2, although it has more than two dozen mutations.
The Bahrain Health Ministry announced that Pfizer XBB 1.5 vaccines would be available at several healthcare centres.