A highly mutated COVID-19 variant known as “cicada” has been detected in Northeast Ohio, according to public health officials, though it does not appear to spread faster or cause more severe illness than other omicron strains.
Cicada, which scientists are monitoring closely, carries an unusually high number of genetic changes.
Dr. Amy Edwards, an associate professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University, said early data suggest these mutations could allow the variant to partially evade the immunity people have built up from previous infections or vaccines…