As COVID-19 continues to evolve, health officials are closely tracking a new variant, BA.3.2, amid rising case numbers in the United States. Dubbed “cicada” by some experts, this variant is an offshoot of BA.3, which has not been prevalent recently, drawing parallels to cicadas that remain dormant underground for years.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outlined in a report dated March 19 that they are monitoring the variant after observing an uptick in cases. Initially identified in South Africa in November 2024, BA.3.2 has now been detected in at least 23 countries and 25 states across the U.S., including Michigan.
Joe Coyle, leading the Bureau of Infectious Disease Prevention for Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services, noted that the variant currently accounts for less than 1% of COVID cases in Michigan. However, in regions like Europe, this figure reaches up to 30%.
Coyle emphasized the importance of monitoring this variant due to its extensive mutations. “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,” he explained.
Concerns arise as the variant’s mutations in the spike protein could potentially “reduce protection from a previous infection or vaccination,” according to the CDC, given its divergence from the JN.1 and LP.8.1 strains that informed the 2025-2026 COVID vaccine.
“When there’s a lot of mutations in the virus that would be the target of your antibodies, there’s the possibility that that COVID variant can evade the immune system better than others and perhaps cause more severe illness,” Coyle noted, though he added, “I don’t know that that’s been demonstrated in the areas that are seeing more ‘cicada’ variants like in Europe.”
The World Health Organization has classified BA.3.2 as a “variant under monitoring,” stating that current COVID-19 vaccines are still expected to offer protection against severe outcomes. “Available evidence suggests that BA.3.2 poses low additional public health risk compared with other circulating Omicron descendent lineages,” the organization stated.
In Michigan, Coyle pointed out that COVID-19 infection rates have been declining, yet vaccination rates have also dropped. He stressed that this new variant underscores the necessity of vaccinations and preventive practices like handwashing. “We haven’t had a real new strain of COVID in a few years, really,” he remarked. “So I think it’s a constant reminder that when these things mutate and if they do evade the immune system, it can create opportunities for higher levels of transmission or severity.”
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