What we know about the new ‘cicada’ COVID-19 variant
This article initially appeared on PolitiFact
A new variant of COVID-19 is buzzing.
Its official title is BA.3.2, but it surely’s earned the nickname “cicada” as a result of, analogous to the insect’s sample, it first appeared again in 2024, went dormant for some time, and resurfaced in the US late final 12 months.
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Evidence to date reveals it’s liable for just a few US instances, but it surely just lately gained traction in Europe, leaving consultants on alert for comparable traits in North America.
“Cicada” is a part of the well-known omicron household of variants but it surely has numerous mutations — 70 to 75 in comparison with the dominant strains. Those mutations could assist it sneak previous the immune defenses that the present COVID-19 vaccine supplies.
Scientists are nonetheless learning this new variant, however this is what we know to date.
Why is it making information?
The variant was first identified in South Africa in November 2024, and detected in the US in a single traveler seven months later in June 2025. It was not noticed in the US till late December and early January.
Since then, extra proof of the variant has emerged.
Public well being consultants use varied strategies of surveillance to trace variants, together with testing samples of wastewater, gathering voluntary nasal swabs from vacationers, and reviewing viral samples collected from sufferers by medical doctors and hospitals. As of Feb. 11, “cicada” was detected in 25 completely different states, based on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Still, BA.3.2 “is currently a minority strain, based on the most recent data available from CDC,” mentioned Dr. Robert H. Hopkins, medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
In Northern Europe, it grew extra prevalent this winter, with 30% of instances in Germany, Denmark and Netherlands linked to the “cicada” variant.
Is it worse than different present variants?
It’s onerous to know. One professional we spoke with mentioned it is too early to inform. Others informed us there is not any proof but exhibiting it is extra extreme than prior variants.
Since it’s so new, most of what we know about how the variant behaves comes from laboratory — not medical — knowledge, mentioned Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious illness professional at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“The early data would indicate that it is not more severe, or it doesn’t have any distinctive clinical presentations,” Schaffner mentioned. This has been typical of COVID-19 variants over the final couple of years, he mentioned. Overall, the illness has not gotten considerably extra extreme, and the signs have not modified a lot from variant to variant.
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It’s additionally not clear when, if ever, this pressure will develop into extra prevalent in the US Some laboratory exams point out it might be much less transmissible, Schaffner mentioned, however “we don’t know how quickly it will circulate or whether it will outrun the other variants that are out there at the moment, because we don’t know how contagious it is.”
Do accessible vaccines present significant safety?
Most of the COVID-19 strains at the moment circulating are well-targeted by this 12 months’s vaccine formulation.
If BA3.2 turns into extra distinguished although, lab knowledge reveals that the variant might elude human immune defenses from vaccines and former infections. But knowledge to date is scarce.
Vaccines could not work properly towards “cicada” an infection, however it is going to nonetheless in all probability defend towards extreme sickness, University of Maryland respiratory professional Dr. Donald Milton mentioned: “That still makes them worth taking.”
How just lately should an individual have gotten vaccines or boosters to be protected?
Doctors and public health officials Typically advise getting a COVID-19 shot yearly in the fall, like a flu shot.
The present COVID-19 shot formulation is about for the 12 months till fall 2026, so you will get one if you have not but.
Every 12 months, scientists attempt to predict months prematurely which strains will likely be circulating in the coming flu and COVID-19 season. Sometimes, they make good matches, however different instances, the viruses develop sudden mutations that assist them evade the vaccine’s safety. Item happened with the flu this 12 months.
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The COVID-19 vaccine being developed for this fall could embrace safety for the new “cicada” variant, Schaffner mentioned.
Generally, getting vaccinated yearly is adequate, regardless that the vaccine’s effectiveness wanes after a number of months.
But older Americans and other people with persistent well being points could wish to contemplate a second shot, Schaffner mentioned. In earlier years, there have been two annual COVID-19 surges, one in winter and one other in summer season. Schaffner mentioned folks in high-risk teams might contemplate getting their second pictures in late spring to guard towards the summer season surge.
Do conventional at-home COVID-19 exams detect this variant?
“The tests are designed to detect parts of the virus that don’t change quickly,” Milton mentioned. “So, your home test kits will still work.”
Just be sure they don’t seem to be expired. And in case you are experiencing signs, steer clear of others, get examined, and get in touch with your physician.
