{"id":15075422,"date":"2026-03-27T06:31:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T10:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/a-new-highly-mutated-covid-variant-called-cicada-is-spreading-in-the-u-s-know-these-symptoms\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T20:48:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T00:48:41","slug":"a-new-highly-mutated-covid-variant-called-cicada-is-spreading-in-the-u-s-know-these-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/a-new-highly-mutated-covid-variant-called-cicada-is-spreading-in-the-u-s-know-these-symptoms\/","title":{"rendered":"A new, highly mutated COVID variant called \u2018Cicada' is spreading in the U.S. Know these symptoms"},"content":{"rendered":"

BA.3.2, a heavily mutated new COVID-19 variant which may be better able to escape immunity from vaccines or prior infection, is now spreading in the United States.<\/p>\n

Although COVID cases are currently low nationally, the BA.3.2 strain is gaining traction across the globe. BA.3.2, aka “cicada,” emerged over a year ago and slowly simmered until last fall, when it started ramping up in several countries, including the U.S.<\/p>\n

As of February, BA.3.2 has been detected in at least 25 states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

Perhaps more concerning is the variant’s slew of genetic changes in its spike protein, which set it apart from other variants circulating, Andrew Pekosz, Ph.D., a virologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, mutates constantly as it spreads. Over time, this leads to the emergence of new variants. But BA.3.2 stands out, according to experts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has a lot of mutations that may cause it to look different to your immune system,\u201d Pekosz says.<\/p>\n

These have the potential to reduce protection from a prior COVID infection or vaccination, according to a new study published in the CDC’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a result, the \u201chyper-mutated\u201d strain is being closely tracked by public health officials. In December 2025, the World Health Organization<\/a> classified BA.3.2 as a \u201cvariant under monitoring.”<\/p>\n

BA.3.2 was nicknamed \u201ccicada\u201d<\/a> by T. Ryan Gregory, Ph.D., a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Guelph who’s coined other variant names like \u201cstratus<\/a>\u201d and \u201cpirola<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like its namesake insect, BA.3.2 also spent its first years \u201cunderground\u201d before re-emerging as a potential major variant, Gregory tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n

Here’s what to know about BA.3.2, where it’s spreading, potential symptoms and the effectiveness of vaccines against it.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIs Covid during pregnancy linked to autism? What a new study shows, and what it doesn't\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDo young people need Covid boosters? Research shows more protection for ages 65 and older\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
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What is the new COVID variant, BA.3.2?<\/h2>\n

BA.3.2 was first identified in November 2024 in South Africa. It’s a descendent of BA.3, an omicron subvariant that emerged in 2022 and briefly circulated with BA.1 and BA.2,<\/a> the CDC said.<\/p>\n

Its ancestor BA.3 fizzled out, but never disappeared, says Pekosz. Two years and dozens of mutations later, BA.3.2 emerged.<\/p>\n

Since 2024, BA.3.2 has moved slowly and quietly, overshadowed by dominant variants like Nimbus and XFG<\/a> \u2014 which all descend from BA.2. Last September, BA.3.2 started taking off.<\/p>\n

“It was under the radar, replicating, until it started to spread more from person to person,” says Pekosz.<\/p>\n

BA.3.2 has 70\u201375 mutations in its spike protein \u2014 that\u2019s a lot, says Pekosz \u2014 which set it apart from JN.1 and LP.8.1, the strains targeted by current COVID-19 vaccines.<\/p>\n

According to the CDC, BA.3.2 represents a new lineage that’s \u201cgenetically distinct\u201d from the family of variants we\u2019ve seen in recent years. \u201cWe think it might be able to evade a lot of the immunity already in the population,\u201d says Pekosz.<\/p>\n

In laboratory studies, BA.3.2 effectively escaped COVID-19 antibodies due to its spike protein changes, the CDC said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“What’s interesting, however, is some of these mutations may actually make the virus bind less well to our cells. So yes, our immune system may not recognize it, but it also doesn’t recognize us as well,” Dr. Dana Mazo, an infectious diseases physician at NYU Langone Health, tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n

Why is BA.3.2 resurfacing now? That\u2019s unclear, Mazo says.<\/p>\n

Does the new COVID variant cause more severe illness?<\/h2>\n

Is BA.3.2 making people sicker? Fortunately, no.<\/p>\n

“There\u2019s no evidence that BA.3.2 is causing more severe disease or hospitalizations in countries where it\u2019s more widespread,” Dr. Adolfo Garc\u00eda-Sastre, director of the global health and emerging pathogens institute at Mt. Sinai, tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n

“It can still cause problems, of course, but it’s not a more problematic strain that previous ones,” says Garc\u00eda-Sastre.<\/p>\n

Pekosz adds: \u201cIt looks scary on paper, but it hasn\u2019t really made a big impact in terms of disease in most places yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where is BA.3.2 spreading?<\/h2>\n

As of Feb. 11, 2026, BA.3.2 has spread to at least 23 countries, per data from the CDC and the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) database<\/a>. It’s driving about 30% of cases in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, per the CDC.<\/p>\n

BA.3.2 was first detected in the U.S. in June 2025 in a traveler returning from the Netherlands at the San Francisco International Airport, the CDC said. Since then, it’s been detected in more international travelers, COVID patients and wastewater samples.<\/p>\n

BA.3.2 is spreading in at least 25 states, per the CDC:<\/p>\n