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“COVID varian baru” (new COVID variant) returned to Indonesia’s trending searches this week, with more than 5,000 searches in a day. Behind the spike is PJ.2.1, an Omicron subvariant that has been reported in a growing number of countries, from the United States to Singapore.
What the health ministry says
The Ministry of Health says PJ.2.1 has not been detected in Indonesia. Aji Muhawarman, head of the ministry’s communications bureau, told Bloomberg Technoz on November 13 that “nationally it has not been found”, because variants have to be confirmed through whole genome sequencing (WGS), and none of the samples sequenced so far has shown it.
Aji also made two important points. First, PJ.2.1 is not a new virus or a completely new variant. It is a descendant of Omicron, which has dominated globally since 2022. Second, there is so far no scientific evidence that it causes more severe illness or a higher risk of death than earlier subvariants. Health authorities say no special preventive measures are planned, but genomic surveillance has been stepped up. Global data also suggests another subvariant, ST.1, currently accounts for more sequenced cases worldwide.
My view: this is how it should work
I think the ministry is handling this correctly, and that should be said, because the instinct after 2020 and 2021 is to fear every new variant name.
Respiratory viruses keep mutating. New subvariants of COVID-19 are now as routine as new strains of seasonal flu. What matters is not whether a new name appears but whether it changes three things: how easily it spreads, how ill it makes people, and whether existing immunity still protects against serious disease. So far PJ.2.1 does not appear to change any of them in a meaningful way. If that changes, sequencing data will show it before hospitals do, which is exactly why surveillance matters.
My concern is the opposite: that Indonesia lets its genomic surveillance weaken because the public has moved on. The WGS network built during the pandemic, with laboratories across the provinces, is a national asset. It helps detect dengue serotypes, influenza strains and the next unknown pathogen. It needs stable funding, not funding only during emergencies.
Practical advice
- People who are older, have chronic conditions or are immunocompromised should keep their boosters up to date when they are offered, and see a doctor early if they develop a fever and cough.
- If you are ill, stay home or wear a mask in crowded places. It was good manners before COVID and still is.
- Check information with official sources before forwarding WhatsApp warnings. Most “new variant” alarms in family group chats are out of date or wrong.
There is no need to panic about PJ.2.1. The right response is to keep the surveillance system funded and working.
Sources: Bloomberg Technoz; Jawa Pos; Jawa Pos (ST.1).
