Health officials warn that they have discovered a “highly mutated” COVID-19 variant nicknamed “Cicada” in at least 25 states and that it is spreading. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are now monitoring this new COVID-19 variant, also known as BA.3.2.
Since its initial discovery in November 2024, the CDC reports that researchers have now seen BA.3.2 in at least 25 states and 23 countries.
According to experts, BA.3.2 is a mutation that is more adept at evading immune systems and vaccination formulations that have developed resistance to other COVID-19 variants. The Cicada variant contains about 70 to 75 mutations.
Vaccine Advisor reports that Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr., the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, said the variant was first identified in a traveler arriving in the United States in June 2025.
“It is possible we will see Cicada become the dominant strain in the U.S., but that is by no means certain,” Hopkins told USA Today. “Low vaccination rates and little to no public health effort toward stopping COVID infections and spread leaves us vulnerable.”
Where is the new COVID-19 variant spreading and what are the symptoms?
More than half of the states in the United States—California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming—have confirmed the presence of the BA.3.2 variant thus far.
Symptoms include runny or stuffy nose, fever, cough, headache, shortness of breath, sore throat, congestion, muscle pain or body aches, vomiting, diarrhea, and changes to the sense of smell or taste.
“I have not seen any data which indicates that Cicada is any more severe than other circulating variants,” Hopkins told USA Today. “Severe sore throat is reported as a common symptom along with other typical COVID symptoms.”
According to the CDC, if you are 65 years of age or older, have never had a COVID vaccination, are at high risk of developing a serious illness from COVID due to a chronic medical condition, or are immunocompromised, you should receive the most recent version of the vaccine.
“The number of mutations from JN.1 viruses makes it less likely that the current vaccines will be highly effective against Cicada, but we need more data to better answer this question,” Hopkins said.