Public health officials are keeping an eye on a new COVID variant following a steady increase in cases in the U.S.
The variant, officially named BA.3.2, has earned the nickname “cicada” from some experts. The idea behind the nickname is that the variant is an offshoot of the BA.3 variant, which hasn’t circulated widely in the past few years, similar to how cicadas lie dormant underground.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced in a March 19 report that it was tracking the variant after an increase in U.S. cases. The variant was first detected in South Africa in November 2024. As of mid February, the latest date in the CDC report, BA.3.2 had been found in at least 23 countries and 25 U.S. states, including Michigan.
Joe Coyle, director of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Prevention at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said the variant represents less than 1% of the COVID currently circulating in Michigan. However, in some places like Europe, that number is as high as 30%.
Coyle said public health officials are keeping tabs on the variant because of its large number of 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 said.
Because the variant is so mutated from the JN.1 and LP.8.1 versions of the virus, which were used to develop the 2025-2026 COVID vaccine, the mutations in the spike protein have the potential to “reduce protection from a previous infection or vaccination,” according to the CDC.
“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 said. “Although 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 designated the form as a “variant under monitoring,” but noted that currently available COVID-19 vaccines are expected to still protect against severe illness. "Available evidence suggests that BA.3.2 poses low additional public health risk compared with other circulating Omicron descendent lineages," the organization said.
Coyle said in Michigan, rates of COVID-19 infection have been steadily decreasing. However, so have the rates of vaccination. He said this new variant highlights the importance of vaccinations and other preventive measures like handwashing.
“We haven't had a real new strain of COVID in a few years, really,” he said. “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.”
