COVID variant 'Cicada': Symptoms, spread causes and more

BA.3.2 aka ‘Cicada’, a highly mutated new COVID-19 variant that may be better able to escape immunity from vaccines or prior infection, is now spreading in the United States.

Although COVID cases are low nationally, the BA.3.2 strain is gaining traction around 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 Feb. 11, the BA.3.2 variant has been detected in at least 25 states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

What is BA.3.2 Covid variant?

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 co-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. It further branched into two subvariants, BA.3.2.1 and BA.3.2.2.

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.

Where is it spreading?

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. So far, the majority of cases are in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, per the CDC.

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.

Symptoms of the new COVID-19 variant BA.3.2

The symptoms of BA.3.2 are similar to those caused by other variants circulating, the experts note.

According to the CDC, common COVID-19 symptoms in 2026 include:

Cough
Fever or chills
Sore throat
Congestion
Shortness of breath
Loss of smell or taste
Fatigue
Headache
Diarrhea or vomiting

Symptoms can vary depending on the person, but usually go away on their own with supportive care.

Do vaccines protect against the new COVID variant?

BA.3.2 has drawn attention partly because the changes in its spike protein have may affect how well the vaccine works, highlighting the need for possible reformulation, the experts note.

The 2025-2026 COVID vaccines, which target the JN.1 lineage, are effective at protecting against severe disease from current strains.

In lab studies, these vaccines were less effective against BA.3.2, but more research is needed, the CDC said.

“It’s not completely clear how effective the current vaccine will be, but it likely still has some effectiveness,” García-Sastre says.

According to the WHO, current COVID vaccines “are expected to continue providing protection against severe disease.”

Vaccines are typically reformulated in the summer and can protect against multiple strains. “One beauty of this vaccine is that we can update it every year,” says Mazo.

In the meantime, you can still protect yourself and others by testing if you have symptoms, staying home when sick and wearing a mask in high-risk (crowded, indoor) settings.