Death audit report: Which are the common comorbidities among people who succumbed to the JN.1 variant?

“All of them were found with comorbidities, making it important to focus on targetted treatment of comorbidities. Physicians might have to concentrate more on the targetted management of comorbidities following prompt and appropriate triage in patients with Covid-19 and coexisting conditions,” he said.

“So, the state Health Department has requested the advisory committee to provide its recommendations on clinical guidelines for doctors in the next meeting,” the Commissioner added.

Also Read: JN.1 variant dominates with 7 in 10 Covid-19 cases, yet impact remains ‘low’

TAC closely monitoring hospital admissions

Meanwhile, the TAC is also closely monitoring hospital admissions. While it is expected that the numbers may go up with the JN.1 variant of Covid-19 being known to spread faster, though the majority of the infections are said to be asymptomatic, experts from the committee are closely monitoring the nature and the number of hospital admissions.

Speaking to South First, Dr K Ravi, who heads the TAC for Karnataka and also presently heads the state’s Death Audit Committee, said, “We are closely monitoring hospital admissions too. However, we have found that in the ICU patients, too, finding of Covid-19 has been incidental. The majority of them are patients who have multiple comorbidities and have been admitted for issues related to their prior conditions. When tested, Covid-19 has been an incidental confirmation.”

He added that the admissions in general beds are also being looked into. However, it seems to be more of elderly people, those with comorbidities who did not want to risk staying at home and have sought hospital admissions. The majority of them are being discharged healthy, he said.

Adding to this, Randeep told South First, “Of over 1,100 active cases, only 55 patients are hospitalised and of that, only 23 are in the ICU. That’s around 2 percent. Focus would now shift to these patients for focused supportive treatment of comorbidities till they recover from the Covid-19 infection.”

Also Read: Additional public health risk by JN.1 variant is low: WHO

Who are the people dying due to Covid-19?

Experts explained that as opposed to the earlier delta wave, where otherwise healthy people were developing pneumonia, breathing-related complications due to Covid-19, with the JN.1 variant, it has majorly been those who have prior comorbidities.

This has been the trend seen in most of the southern states, while the majority of them are yet to announce the official audit reports on these deaths.

In Visakhapatnam, for instance, on 26 December, a 51-year-old woman who had been hospitalised, succumbed to multiorgan dysfunction. She was admitted to the Government Hospital for Chest and Communicable Diseases due to respiratory issues and she was later diagnosed with Covid-19 during a routine examination.

Dr P Jagadeeswara Rao, the District Medical and Health Officer, told South First, “Although the patient tested positive for Covid-19 and eventually passed away, it cannot be definitively stated that her demise was solely caused by the virus. The woman had other underlying health issues; she suffered from kidney failure and multi-organ dysfunction syndrome, as confirmed by the doctor. Initially admitted to the Chest Hospital, she was later moved to King George Hospital after her Covid-19 diagnosis.”

Echoing the same, Dr Ravi told South First that even amongst Karnataka’s Covid-related deaths, those who developed pneumonia and breathlessness were already patients who had renal issues, lung-related issues.

“Two patients who had developed breathlessness had conditions worsened for these prior illnesses at home and were brought to the hospital when they were tested for Covid-19 and were found to be Covid-19 positive. The majority of them were having lung-related problems, malignancy, tumours, tuberculosis along with hypertension, chronic lung issues, diabetes, etc,” he said.

Meanwhile, a member of the expert committee on Covid from Kochi, Kerala, told South First, “As there are no official death audit reports announced from Kerala, I won’t be able to comment on this. However, from anecdotal reports, in Kerala, these Covid-19 deaths have primarily occurred among people who were previously suffering from significant health conditions such as chronic liver disease, lung disease, and kidney disease among old age groups. However, in the absence of widespread testing, these observations could be skewed.”

He added that it is true that severe pneumonia occurring in previously healthy people is no longer seen with newer variants such as JN.1.

Also Read: Exclusive: Is JN.1 ‘variant of interest’ a cause of worry?

Why JN.1 is not the common cold

Despite the fact that the JN.1 variant of Covid-19 is majorly asymptomatic and even in those who are coming in with infection, the symptoms are very mild. However, experts warned that people should be careful and it is best to avoid Covid-19 infection.

Speaking to South First, in an earlier interview, Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, Co-Chairman of the National Indian Medical Association Covid Task Force, said, “For people comparing the JN.1 variant of Covid-19 with the common cold, it’s very different from the common cold… Covid is a disease that can directly affect the inner lining of the blood vessels. Among those who recovered from Covid, there is a greater long-term risk of cardiovascular events, especially for those who have had severe Covid.”

Dr Rajeev said, “There is a huge difference between the common cold and Covid-19. So I would say let’s not take it lightly. If you can avoid the infection, it is much better to avoid it than to get it and risk the after-effects of it.”

Meanwhile, Dr Ravi insisted that the elderly, those with any kind of comorbidities, especially those who are chronic liver, lung and renal patients, should get admitted to a hospital early if they experience Covid-19 symptoms.

Echoing the same, renowned microbiologist Dr Gagandeep Kang, in an earlier interview with South First, also said that there is enough data now from around the world to know that people who have suffered from Covid and, particularly those who have repeat infections, are more likely to suffer from long Covid symptoms, including heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, depression, weakness of muscles, insomnia etc.