BA.3.2, a closely mutated new COVID-19 variant which can be higher in a position to escape immunity from vaccines or prior an infection, is now spreading in the United States.
Although COVID circumstances are at the moment low nationally, the BA.3.2 pressure is gaining traction across the globe. BA.3.2, aka “cicada,” emerged over a 12 months in the past and slowly simmered till final fall, when it began ramping up in a number of nations, together with the U.S.
As of Feb. 11, BA.3.2 has been detected in not less than 25 states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mentioned.
Perhaps extra regarding is the variant’s slew of genetic modifications in its spike protein, which set it other than different variants circulating, Andrew Pekosz, Ph.D., a virologist on the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, tells TODAY.com.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates continuously because it spreads, which ends up in the emergence of recent variants. Most of the strains spreading proper now are carefully associated, with slight genetic variations. But BA.3.2 stands out, in accordance with consultants.
“It has a lot of mutations that may cause it to look different to your immune system,” Pekosz says.
These have the potential to scale back safety from a earlier an infection or vaccination, in accordance with a brand new examine revealed in the CDC’s newest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
As a end result, the “hyper-mutated” pressure is being carefully tracked by public well being officers. In December 2025, the World Health Organization categorized 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 on the University of Guelph who’s coined different variant names like “stratus” and “pirola.”
Like its namesake insect, BA.3.2 also spent its first few 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, symptoms and the effectiveness of current vaccines.
What Is the New COVID Variant, BA.3.2?
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. 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 began taking off.
“It was underneath the radar, replicating, till it began to unfold extra from individual to individual,” 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 research, BA.3.2 successfully escaped COVID-19 antibodies because of its spike protein modifications, the CDC said.
“What’s fascinating, nevertheless, is a few of these mutations may very well make the virus bind much less effectively to our cells. So sure, our immune system might not acknowledge it, nevertheless it additionally would not acknowledge us as effectively,” Dr. Dana Mazo, an infectious diseases physician at NYU Langone Health, tells TODAY.com.
Why is BA.3.2 resurfacing now? That’s unclear, Mazo says.
Does the New COVID Variant Cause More Severe Illness?
Is BA.3.2 making people sicker? Fortunately, no.
“There’s no proof that BA.3.2 is inflicting extra extreme illness or hospitalizations in nations the place it’s extra widespread,” Dr. Adolfo García-Sastre, director of the global health and emerging pathogens institute at Mt. Sinai, tells TODAY.com.
“It can nonetheless trigger issues, after all, nevertheless it’s not a extra problematic pressure that earlier ones,” says García-Sastre.
Where Is BA.3.2 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. It’s driving about 30% of cases 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 international travelers, COVID patients and wastewater samples.
BA.3.2 is spreading in at least 25 states, per the CDC:
- California
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Wyoming
Currently, BA.3.2 isn’t fueling sufficient circumstances to be included in the CDC’s variant proportion tracker.
However, according to the latest wastewater monitoring data from the CDC, the BA.3.2 variant was found in least 11% of samples, nationally, during the week ending Mar. 21.
Data from WastewaterSCAN, a Stanford University-run program that tracks diseases, also show increasing detections of BA.3.2 in sewage samples across the country.
“There are still a lot of unknown questions about how prevalent it is in the U.S., because surveillance has been reduced a lot,” García-Sastre says.
Will BA.3.2 Cause a Surge in the U.S.?
Although BA.3.2 detections are going up, it’s still circulating at a relatively low level in many countries, including the U.S. “It’s rising, nevertheless it hasn’t actually triggered an enormous surge of infections wherever,” Pekosz provides.
Cicada hasn’t overtaken the present dominant variants, XFG (stratus), NB.1.8.1 (nimbus) and their descendants, Gregory provides.
Despite the large mutations in its spike protein, “BA.3.2 has not proven a sustained progress benefit over different every other co-circulating variant,” the WHO said.
“If it had actually particular benefits, we would most likely have seen it take off and dominate globally comparatively rapidly. We did not see that, nevertheless it’s not going away, so it is one thing to control,” says Pekosz.
Even if BA.3.2 can evade present immunity, there’ll probably nonetheless be some “cross-reactivity,” so it won’t be a complete stranger to our immune systems, the experts say.
COVID-19 can be unpredictable, so only time will tell. “It may evolve to be bit better at spreading or causing disease, but we just don’t know,” says Pekosz.
However, it is unlikely that BA.3.2 will trigger a wave as massive or extreme as those seen very early in the pandemic, he provides.
Symptoms of the New COVID Variant BA.3.2
The signs of BA.3.2 are much like these attributable to different variants circulating proper now, the consultants observe.
According to the CDC, frequent COVID-19 signs in 2026 embrace:
- Cough
- Fever or chills
- Sore throat
- Congestion
- Shortness of breath
- Loss of odor or style
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Gastrointestinal signs
Symptoms can range relying on the individual, however often go away on their very own with supportive care.
“The new variant is still sensitive to COVID antiviral drugs that we have been developing, so at least those will work,” says García-Sastre.
Do Vaccines Protect Against the New COVID Variant?
BA.3.2 has drawn consideration partly as a result of the modifications in its spike protein have might have an effect on how effectively the vaccine protects towards an infection, highlighting the necessity for attainable reformulation, the consultants observe.
The 2025-2026 COVID vaccines, which goal the JN.1 lineage, are efficient at defending towards extreme illness from present strains.
In lab research, these vaccines had been much less efficient towards BA.3.2, however extra analysis is required, the CDC mentioned.
“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, present COVID vaccines “are expected to continue providing protection against severe disease.”
Vaccines are usually reformulated in the summer time and may shield towards a number of strains. “One beauty of this vaccine is that we can update it every year,” says Mazo.
In the meantime, you possibly can nonetheless shield your self and others by testing you probably have signs, staying residence when sick and carrying a masks in high-risk (crowded, indoor) settings.
If you have not been vaccinated or contaminated with COVID in the final six to 12 months, it could be value speaking to your physician about whether or not a booster is best for you, says García-Sastre.
Vaccination is especially necessary for folks at larger danger of extreme illness from COVID-19, which embrace adults over 65 and people with weakened immune methods or underlying circumstances.
“Vaccination is still going to help limit cases,” says Pekosz.
