The Russian office of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of increasing risks of international spread of a new coronavirus variant, PJ.2.1. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
PJ.2.1 was first detected in Canada in May 2026. It belongs to the Omicron family, whose representatives have been circulating for several years. The same group includes the 'Stratus' (XFG) variant, known to specialists since January 2025.
Despite the large number of mutations, there is no confirmation yet that the new SARS-CoV-2 strain causes more severe disease compared with other variants.
It has already spread across several continents and is actively circulating in the United States, Canada and European countries. According to Rospotrebnadzor, no cases of infection with this strain have been officially registered in Russia so far, but monitoring is being conducted in real time.
It has not been registered in Kazakhstan either.
The strain has acquired a significantly higher ability to penetrate human cells and is rapidly accumulating mutations that help it more effectively evade the established immune response. The risk of its importation into other countries is increasing amid cross-border movement of people.
The WHO emphasizes that there are currently no clinical data indicating a more severe course of the disease or an increase in mortality compared with other known SARS-CoV-2 variants. The strain does not cause an increase in the number of pneumonias or respiratory failure.
The most vulnerable category to the new variant traditionally remains people aged 60 and older.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan issued an official clarification amid reports of Russian tourists contracting coronavirus. According to the agency, the epidemiological situation regarding the infection in the country remains stable, and the number of registered COVID-19 cases has decreased almost fourfold compared with last year.
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