Health officials are closely watching a new COVID-19 variant after a rise in cases.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the variant know
The heavily mutated new BA.3.2 COVID-19 variant, aka "cicada," is spreading in at least 25 U.S. states, the CDC said. What to know about its spread and symptoms.The new COVID-19 variant which may be better able to escape immunity from vaccines or prior infection, is now spreading in the United States.
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. As of February, BA.3.2 has been detected in at least 25 states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. 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. 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.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. As a result, the “hyper-mutated” strain is being closely tracked by public health officials. In December 2025, the World Health Organization classified BA.3.2 as a “variant under monitoring." BA.3.2 was nicknamed “cicada” by T. Ryan Gregory, Ph.D., a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Guelph who's coined other variant names like “stratus” and “pirola.” Like its namesake insect, BA.3.2 also spent its first years “underground” before re-emerging as a potential major variant, Gregory tells TODAY.com. Here's what to know about BA.3.2, where it's spreading, potential symptoms and the effectiveness of vaccines against it.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, the CDC said. Its ancestor BA.3 fizzled out, but never disappeared, says Pekosz. Two years and dozens of mutations later, BA.3.2 emerged. Since 2024, BA.3.2 has moved slowly and quietly, overshadowed by dominant variants like Nimbus and XFG — which all descend from BA.2. Last September, BA.3.2 started taking off. "It was under the radar, replicating, until it started to spread more from person to person," says Pekosz. BA.3.2 has 70–75 mutations in its spike protein — that’s a lot, says Pekosz — which set it apart from JN.1 and LP.8.1, the strains targeted by current COVID-19 vaccines. According to the CDC, BA.3.2 represents a new lineage that's “genetically distinct” from the family of variants we’ve seen in recent years. “We think it might be able to evade a lot of the immunity already in the population,” says Pekosz. In laboratory studies, BA.3.2 effectively escaped COVID-19 antibodies due to its spike protein changes, the CDC said. "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.Does the New COVID Variant Cause More Severe Illness?"There’s no evidence that BA.3.2 is causing more severe disease or hospitalizations in countries where it’s more widespread," Dr. Adolfo García-Sastre, director of the global health and emerging pathogens institute at Mt. Sinai, tells TODAY.com. "It can still cause problems, of course, but it's not a more problematic strain that previous ones," says García-Sastre. Pekosz adds: “It looks scary on paper, but it hasn’t really made a big impact in terms of disease in most places yet.”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 database. It's driving about 30% of cases in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, per the CDC.The Mobile Housing Authority has announced that the following Public Housing waiting lists will open to new applicants on Monday, March 30, 2026, at 9:00 am.TheMobile, Ala. — The Mobile County Judicial Commission has announced a timeline for filling a vacancy on the Circuit Court following the resignation of Circuit JuMobile PD: Man arrested for home invasion with a handgun According to Mobile Police, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at approximately 8:57 p.m., officers responded to the 3600 block of Brown Road in reference to a homeAccording to Foley Police, on March 25, at around 2:00 p.m., officers responded to a call of a woman who had been stabbed with a screwdriver on Dailey Ln.. in F
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New at Petco Park: Retro speakeasy, new video boards, new and local food favoritesInside the park, the Padres added two new video boards to the first- and third-base towers. They will display real-time pitchers' statistics.
Read more »
What we know and don’t know about the Iran war negotiationsA 15-point plan from the Trump administration was offered late Tuesday to Iran.
Read more »
New COVID-19 variant spreading through multiple states: What to knowBA.3.2, a new COVID-19 variant, has been detected in wastewater samples from 25 states. The variant has mutations that could evade immunity from a previous infection or vaccination.
Read more »
Everything to know about MLB's new ABS robot challenge system — and the potential for humiliation“I think it’s embarrassing, embarrassing to the umpires that are calling the game. Nobody likes to be humiliated in front of 30,000, 40,000 people.”
Read more »
What to know about the candidates on Trump’s new CDC director short listHere's an inside look at the three doctors on Trump's short list for the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Read more »
Everything you need to know about the new highly-mutated 'Cicada' Covid variantToday's Video Headlines: 03/26/26
Read more »