Understanding the COVID-19 ‘Cicada’ Variant (BA.3.2): What You Necessitate to Know
While overall COVID-19 infections are declining nationally, a recent, highly mutated strain is gaining traction in the United States. Officially known as BA.3.2 and nicknamed “Cicada,” this variant is drawing attention from public health officials due to its unique genetic makeup and its ability to potentially bypass existing immunity.
- Official Name: BA.3.2 (nicknamed “Cicada”).
- Current Reach: Detected in at least 25 U.S. States as of February 2026.
- Key Characteristic: Highly mutated spike protein that may help it escape vaccine or prior infection immunity.
- Trend: While national cases are down, BA.3.2’s share of infections is rising, recently exceeding 20% in some tracking data.
What is the Cicada Variant?
The “Cicada” variant, or BA.3.2, is an Omicron-related subvariant. It earned its nickname from evolutionary biologist T. Ryan Gregory, Ph.D., as of its behavior: like the cicada insect, the virus spent years “underground” or undetected before re-emerging as a potential major variant ([Today](https://www.today.com/health/coronavirus/new-covid-variant-ba32-cicada-symptoms-2026-rcna265088))
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First detected in June 2025 in a traveler arriving in the U.S. From abroad, the first local case in a U.S. Patient was diagnosed in January 2026. By December 2025, the World Health Organization had already classified BA.3.2 as a “variant under monitoring.”
Why Are Health Experts Concerned?
The primary concern surrounding BA.3.2 is its “hyper-mutated” nature. According to Andrew Pekosz, Ph.D., a virologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the variant possesses a slew of genetic changes in its spike protein. These mutations make the virus “look different” to the human immune system, which can reduce the protection provided by previous vaccinations or past infections ([Today](https://www.today.com/health/coronavirus/new-covid-variant-ba32-cicada-symptoms-2026-rcna265088))
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The CDC is currently evaluating the variant across three critical areas:
- Transmissibility: How quickly the virus spreads from person to person.
- Immune Evasion: Its ability to partially bypass immunity from vaccines or prior illness.
- Clinical Impact: Whether the variant causes more severe illness or different outcomes.
Current Spread and Data in the U.S.
The spread of BA.3.2 is being tracked through clinical samples and wastewater monitoring. As of February 11, 2026, the CDC detected the variant in nasal swabs from travelers, clinical samples from patients, and 132 wastewater samples across 25 states ([Stony Brook Medicine](https://health.stonybrookmedicine.edu/new-covid-variant-ba32-cicada-what-to-know/))
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Recent data suggests a significant jump in prevalence. While the variant accounted for less than 4% of U.S. Cases in mid-March, data from WasteWaterSCAN (a Stanford University-led tool) indicates that BA.3.2 accounted for more than 20% of tested COVID infections by early April 2026 ([USA Today](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2026/04/08/covid-variant-cicada-ba-3-2-us-cases-increase/89522582007/))
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Cicada variant more severe than previous strains?
Health experts state there is currently no indication that BA.3.2 is causing more severe illness than recent strains. Monitoring is ongoing to determine the full clinical impact.
How is BA.3.2 being tracked?
Public health officials are using a combination of nasal swabs from patients and travelers, as well as wastewater surveillance to monitor its geographic spread and prevalence.
Why is it called “Cicada”?
The name refers to the variant’s pattern of emerging after a long period of remaining undetected or “underground,” similar to the lifecycle of the cicada insect.
Looking Ahead
As the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to evolve, the emergence of variants like BA.3.2 highlights the importance of ongoing genomic surveillance. While the current national trend in COVID-19 cases is downward, the rapid increase in the proportion of Cicada infections suggests that the virus is still finding ways to navigate human immunity. Public health agencies continue to monitor the variant to provide updated guidance on protection and vaccination.