In recent weeks, the country has been introduced to a new variant strain of COVID-19, officially named variant BA 3.2. The variant has been nicknamed ‘Cicada,’ and is an offshoot from the BA 3 variant strain of COVID that has not been widely circulated in close to four years. The BA 3.2 variant was first detected globally in South Africa in November 2024, and was first detected in the United States in June 2026 after an individual had traveled to the Netherlands.
This year, 2026, the first detection of the strain occurred in January. BA 3.2 This new variant is not yet the domination in the US in terms of COVID-19 variants, but it is extremely concerning due to its genetic makeup. The variant has over 70 mutations, and its sequence changes are directly correlated to how the virus enters the human bloodstream. A major concern with BA 3.2 is its ‘immune escape characteristics,’ meaning its mutations may prevent vaccinations or previous illness from working to stop the virus. Because of the differences in mutations compared to the ones used to develop the 2025-2026 COVID vaccine, JN 1 and LP 8.1, there are concerns this vaccine will be unable to prevent the spread.
While this variant is not widely spread in the United States yet, its prevalence is increasing especially in European countries, creating problems with traveling for Americans re-entering the US. Due to a report from February 11, 2026 from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, the current prevalence of this variant is 0.55%. Cases have been diagnosed by four nasal swabs done on US travelers, clinical samples of five patients, three airplane wastewater samples, and 132 wastewater samples across 25 American states–one being New York.
In the cases that have been present, there has been little detection of severe disease or illness connected to BA 3.2. No major hospitalizations have been apparent in patients who tested positive for the strain. Its symptoms are similar to the other COVID-19 strains, such as loss of taste or smell, fever, and nausea, and have not been found to be more severe than previous strains. Throughout the cases that have been reported, the most common is a sore throat.
BA 3.2 has not been named a major public health concern as of now, but is being tracked and monitored very closely by the CDC and the GISAID database. The strain has not been included in the CDC’s variant proportion tracker due to its lack of prevalence, and scientists believe there will not be a major outbreak.
However, like always, washing your hands, wearing a mask when sick or around those who are sick, and social distancing when applicable helps to protect ourselves from COVID-19!
