{"id":73329,"date":"2026-04-01T17:52:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T17:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/a-new-covid-19-variant-called-cicada-is-spreading-heres-what-to-know\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T17:52:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T17:52:46","slug":"a-new-covid-19-variant-called-cicada-is-spreading-heres-what-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/a-new-covid-19-variant-called-cicada-is-spreading-heres-what-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"A new COVID-19 variant called &#8220;Cicada&#8221; is spreading. Here&#8217;s what to know."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>&#8220;Cicada&#8221; is trending, but not because it&#8217;s the season for the <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/cicada-maps-2025-emergence\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">noisy insects<\/a><\/span> to appear. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization are both monitoring a COVID-19 variant called BA.3.2, which is nicknamed &#8220;Cicada.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Where is it?<\/h2>\n<p>BA.3.2 was first identified in November 2024 and has since spread to at least 23 countries. It&#8217;s also been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/mmwr\/volumes\/75\/wr\/mm7510a1.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">detected<\/a> in at least 25 states in the U.S. as of February, according to the CDC.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But while the variant is spreading here, it&#8217;s not the dominant strain.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Whether it will push itself to the front of the line remains to be seen,&#8221; Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, told CBS News \u00a0&#8220;We&#8217;ll have to wait and see.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>What is it?<\/h2>\n<p>The variant is a member of the Omicron family and is highly mutated, with 70 to 75 mutations. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/laninf\/article\/PIIS1473-3099(25)00690-5\/fulltext\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recent study<\/a> in the journal Lancet found the current <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/covid-19-shot-recommendations-american-academy-of-pediatrics-cdc\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">COVID-19 vaccine<\/a><\/span> is less effective against BA.3.2 compared to the current dominant strains, although it does provide some protection.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;These are still early days, &#8221; Schaffner said. &#8220;But at the moment the conclusion seems to be there is this capacity for this new variant to evade some of the protections we have all acquired over the years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Is it more severe?<\/h2>\n<p>Currently the CDC is not reporting a nationwide increase in severe disease from COVID-19. Case rates, emergency visits and hospitalizations are trending downward. But state rates can vary. Massachusetts and Florida are estimated as likely having an increase in cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We haven&#8217;t seen evidence of this variant causing more severe disease or an increase in hospitalizations elsewhere,&#8221; according to CBS News medical contributor Dr. Celine Gounder, editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>What to know about symptoms<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/covid-19-symptoms-jn1-variant-winter-wave\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Symptoms of COVID-19<\/a><\/span> include fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat and congestion.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The CDC says it&#8217;s important to get the current COVID vaccine if you are ages 65 and older, have never received a COVID vaccine or are at high risk for severe illness from COVID. The high-risk group includes people younger than age 65 with a chronic medical condition like heart disease, lung disease or diabetes, as well as those who are immunocompromised.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Get a dose of the vaccine towards the end of May, beginning of June in order to provide some protection against the summer increase,&#8221; Schaffner advised. &#8220;We anticipate that will happen because that&#8217;s what&#8217;s happened <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/covid-19-cases-rise-summer-2025-cdc-data\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">in the past<\/a><\/span>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n<p class=\"content__meta--editors\">\n      Edited by<\/p>\n<p>                      <span class=\"byline__author__text\">Paula  Cohen<\/span>\n                      <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>  <!-- data-recirc-source=\"chartbeat\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation  component--type-recirculation-collection\">\n<div class=\"component__heading-wrapper recirc\">\n<h3 class=\"component__title\">Coronavirus Pandemic<br \/>\n                          <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/feature\/coronavirus\/?intcid=CNI-00-10aaa3a\" class=\"component__view-more component__view-more--lg\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\"><br \/>\n                More<br \/>\n                <svg viewbox=\"0 0 32 32\" class=\"icon__caret-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n                  <use xlink:href=\"#icon-caret-down\"\/>\n                <\/svg><br \/>\n              <\/a><br \/>\n                      <\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"component__item-recirc-block\">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">Go deeper with The Free Press<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n      <!-- tags --><\/p>\n<section class=\"content__tags\">\n<p class=\"content__tags__label\">In:<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/covid-19-variant-cicada-ba32\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Cicada&#8221; is trending, but not because it&#8217;s the season for the noisy insects to appear. The Centers for Disease Control<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":73330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[691,8854],"class_list":["post-73329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us","tag-covid-19","tag-omicron-variant"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A new COVID-19 variant called &quot;Cicada&quot; is spreading. 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