The cicadas are coming. No, not those cicadas. A new variant of the SARS-CoV-2, formally known as BA.3.2 and nicknamed “Cicada,” has been reported in more than 20 countries, now including the US, where it has been found in clinical samples from patients with COVID, voluntary self-collected nasal swabs from US travelers, and airplane and local wastewater samples, according to the US CDC.

Data published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) identified the variant in 29 patients and 260 wastewater samples in 29 states and Puerto Rico, as well as in nasal swabs from six US travelers and three airplane wastewater samples as of March 12, 2026.

Ongoing genomic surveillance is needed to track the new variants of SARS-CoV-2 that continue to emerge in order to inform reformulation of vaccines and determine possible effects on public health, wrote lead author Mila Shakya, DPhil, member of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, and colleagues. 

The latest variant is distinctive for staying relatively dormant before emerging in force, like the insects that inspired its name. Cicada was first identified in November 2024 in South Africa before going under the global radar, reemerging in Mozambique in March 2025, the researchers noted. Cases elsewhere in Europe followed, and Cicada has been identified in more than 23 countries as of February 11, 2026. 

The first case in the US was identified in June 2025 in an adult who had traveled to the US from the Netherlands. The first three cases of the Cicada variant in the US occurred in three different states between December 4, 2025, and January 4, 2026, and included two hospitalized older adults with comorbidities and one child who received outpatient care, all of whom survived.

The strain was designated as a Variant Under Monitoring by the World Health Organization, but available evidence to date suggests low additional public health risks compared with its fellow variants descended from the Omicron variant BA.3, according to the WHO. However, the BA.3.2 strain differs by 53 mutations from the original Omicron and has shown an ability to evade many antibodies, the WHO researchers noted.

The 2025-2026 COVID vaccines continue to provide protection against the currently circulating variants that are predominant in the US, ie, JN.1 and LP.8.1. “However, in laboratory studies, the recently emerged BA.3.2 strain efficiently evades antibodies, likely because of spike protein mutations, highlighting the need for ongoing genomic surveillance and observational evaluations of vaccine and antiviral effectiveness,” the CDC researchers said. 

Despite the more than 70 gene sequence differences compared to JN.1 and LP.8.1, Cicada appears not to be associated with more severe disease, the researchers added.

The MMWR findings were limited by several factors including the variations in sequencing and reporting across countries, variations in timing of specimen collection, lack of standardized international methods for submitting genomic sequences, fewer US specimens, and lack of data on illness severity. However, ongoing surveillance data will continue to inform vaccine development and public health decisions, the researchers said.

Mutation Merits Monitoring, Not Panic

“The BA.3.2 ‘Cicada’ variant will be watched, but I do not see it taking over at the moment,” said David J. Cennimo, MD, associate professor of medicine and pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, who was not involved in the MMWR findings.

Concerns about the Cicada variant stem from the mutations, which seem to convey some escape from previous immunity, Cennimo told Medscape Medical News. Reports about increased infections in children have been conflicting, he noted. “It is correct that children, especially young children, have less experience with COVID,” Cennimo said. “They may have no infection-derived immunity and may also have less vaccination,” he added. Consequently, Cennimo said he would expect more cases in children but not necessarily increased severity of illness. 

As for the current COVID vaccine, it may not protect against BA.3.2 well, but that doesn’t mean the vaccine is not worthwhile, Cennimo said. “For now, if someone is recommended for a COVID vaccine, I believe our current stocks remain adequate and protective,” Cennimo told Medscape Medical News. I think it is too soon to tell if Cicada will come to dominate. If it does and is not subsequently “covered” by a modified vaccine, we could see a surge in symptomatic infections,” he added. 

To date, Cicada is a minor variant in the COVID dataset as a whole, reported in the MMWR as 0.19% of samples, Cennimo said. However, the variant is being monitored to detect whether it gains ground, and a scheduled WHO meeting in May to examine various COVID variants and infection trajectories will generate any recommendations for vaccine modifications, he said.

Cennimo disclosed having no financial conflicts of interest.