What a joyous time of year. It’s that magical time when we gather round and unveil the year’s new COVID-19 variant. What new terrifying mutation has the virus that shut down the world six years ago taken on now?
The new variant that has caught the eye of health officials around the world is known as BA.3.2 and has been nicknamed “Cicada.” It has not yet become the most dominant strain, but it very well could one day, for one big reason: it seems to be pretty good at slipping past our bodies’ defenses against COVID-19.
BA.3.2 was first detected through airport screening in the United States in 2025. It has since been detected in patients across multiple states and in wastewater samples spanning at least half the country. It currently represents a fraction of the total COVID cases reported, but wastewater data suggest it’s much more widespread than testing can confirm.
What We Know About the Highly Mutated New COVID Variant ‘Cicada’
Cicada has around 70 to 75 mutations that have diverged significantly from some of the more recent dominant strains. Early research suggests it could reduce the effectiveness of immunity from past infections or vaccinations. That, of course, does not mean that vaccines are useless; it just means that the virus is doing the same things all coronaviruses do, as all common viruses do, and that’s evolve to better maneuver around the defenses we built up against it.
Other than that, there’s no clear evidence that Cicada causes illnesses any more severe than those caused by the dominant strains out there. All known cases in the United States have been relatively mild, and there’s been no spike in deaths linked to the specific variant. That said, overall, COVID-19 still kills 100,000 Americans annually, with older adults and the immunocompromised getting hit especially hard.
For now, the collective message from health officials worldwide is to monitor its evolution cautiously. If you had COVID before, then you’ll be familiar with all of BA.3.2’s symptoms, like cough, fatigue, sore throat, and the like. None of that is the concern, or at least it is not a new concern. The concern here is the clever tricks this one has devised for finding new ways to infect.
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