The ‘Cicada’ Variant of Covid-19 Is Spreading in the United States. Here’s What You Need to Know

Infection levels are still low in the country, but the highly mutated variant might be able to evade your body’s immune defenses acquired via vaccine or past infection

Sara Hashemi | Daily Correspondent

March 31, 2026

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A new variant of COVID-19 is spreading across the United States, according to public health officials. This version, officially known as BA.3.2, has been dubbed the “Cicada” variant, after the insect famed for spending long periods underground before re-emerging. That’s because the virus was first detected in South Africa in late 2024 but remained under the radar until recently resurfacing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the variant had been detected in 25 U.S. states and at least 23 countries as of February 11, according to a report released earlier this month. While it accounts for less than one percent of U.S. Covid-19 cases analyzed in the past few months, Cicada represents about 30 percent of recently examined cases in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, hinting that North American infections with the variant might soon rise.

Cicada hasn’t been linked to a substantially higher incidence rate of Covid-19 overall, but the CDC is keeping an eye on it because it has many genetic mutations. The new variant contains around 70 to 75 genetic changes in a protein that helps the virus enter our cells compared to the JN.1 variant, a predominant strain in the United States, and its relative LP.8.1. The latter versions were the main ones considered when the country formulated its 2025-2026 vaccine.

“It has a large number of mutations in the genetic elements that generally your body produces antibodies against, either from natural infection or from the vaccines that people may have received,” says Joe Coyle, director of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Prevention at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, to Mary Corey at Michigan Public.

That means current Covid-19 vaccines may not be as effective against it, though more data is needed to confirm this, says Robert H. Hopkins, Jr., the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, to Mary Walrath-Holdridge at USA Today. The CDC reports that in laboratory studies, Cicada efficiently evades infection-fighting antibodies, probably because of the mutations.

“This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get a vaccine,” writes Kyle B. Enfield, a pulmonary and critical care doctor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and UVA Health, for the Conversation. Plenty of research shows that the preventative measure reduces hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19. A poorly matched immunization means that your vaccine-primed immune system will take a bit longer to raise its defenses against Cicada, he writes, although that could lead to increased person-to-person spread.

Some experts say that Cicada could soon become the dominant strain in the United States and drive a summer Covid-19 surge, Hopkins tells USA Today, “but that is by no means certain.”

It’s also unclear whether the new strain is more dangerous than other variants, and data is currently limited to laboratory studies, not clinical work. “The early data would indicate that it is not more severe, or it doesn’t have any distinctive clinical presentations,” says William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, to Grace Abels at Politifact. This has been typical of all Covid-19 variants over the last couple of years, he adds.

While Covid-19 infection rates have been decreasing overall since the height of the pandemic, so have vaccination rates. As of February 22, about 17 percent of U.S. adults reported receiving the most recent Covid-19 immunization. At the same time last year, roughly 22 percent of U.S. adults had gotten the then-current vaccine.

“Low vaccination rates and little to no public health effort toward stopping Covid infections and spread leaves us vulnerable,” Hopkins tells USA Today.

As for your at-home tests, those will still be accurate, as long as they aren’t expired. “The tests are designed to detect parts of the virus that don’t change quickly,” says Donald Milton, a respiratory virus expert at the University of Maryland, to Politifact. “So, your home test kits will still work.”

To avoid getting or spreading the virus, Enfield recommends frequently washing your hands, staying home if you feel unwell, reducing your time in crowded indoor places and talking to a trusted clinician if you have health concerns.

If you test positive for Covid-19, make sure to follow all current public health guidelines.

Sara Hashemi | Read More

Sara Hashemi is a science writer and fact-checker currently based in New York City. Her work has appeared in Sierra, The Body, Maisonneuve magazine and more.