ATLANTA — A new COVID variant has spread through at least half the nation, causing warnings from public health officials.
The BA.3.2 variant, nicknamed “cicada,” was first discovered in June 2025 and has since been confirmed in 25 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Experts warned that the virus could spread more easily than previous variants and even evade immunity in people previously infected or vaccinated against COVID, due to a mutation that allows it to avoid antibodies, according to a recent CDC report.
What are ‘cicada’ COVID’s symptoms?
The new “cicada” variant doesn’t cause any new or unusual symptoms compared to other COVID variants, according to health experts at Stony Brook Medicine. The main danger from the new strain of the virus is its ability to spread, and circumvent existing protections…