New ‘Cicada’ COVID subvariant detected across countries: Should you be concerned?

If you’ve been hearing the term “Cicada variant” floating around, you’re not alone. The nickname has picked up on social media and in news cycles, partly because it sounds dramatic, partly because people are understandably wary of anything new when it comes to COVID. But here’s the thing—“Cicada” isn’t an official scientific name. It’s a label being used informally for a newer subvariant of the virus, one that researchers are still studying.
Viruses mutate. That’s just what they do. And with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, these changes have continued to show up in waves. The so-called Cicada variant appears to be part of the Omicron family tree, which means it’s not a completely new threat but rather an offshoot with some genetic tweaks.

The highly divergent SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.3.2 was first detected in a respiratory sample collected on November 22, 2024, in South Africa, the US CDC has said. "As of February 11, 2026, BA.3.2 had been reported in 23 countries. Detections began increasing in September 2025. In the United States, BA.3.2 was detected in nasal swabs from four travelers, three airplane wastewater samples, clinical samples from five patients, and 132 wastewater samples from 25 U.S. states," the CDC has said in a report released on March 19.

"The current BA.3.2 cicada subvariant is not regarded as an eminent threat at this time. This subvariant is classified as a Variant Under Monitoring and not a Variant of Concern at this time. The vast majority of cases appear to be mild or moderate in nature; however, due to a number of numerous variations between the BA.3.2 cicada and the BA.3 subvariants, this subvariant may be able to easily spread or reinfect. As such, individuals in the highest at-risk groups ,the elderly, the pregnant and the immunocompromised, should be aware of the potential for this variant to spread easily," Dr. Santosh Kumar Agrawal, Director - Internal Medicine, Yatharth Super Speciality Hospital Faridabad Sector-88 explained.

"The COVID symptoms related to the current COVID subvariant are similar in nature when compared to earlier COVID subvariants. A hallmark symptom associated with this variant is a severe and painful sore throat. Additional symptoms for the BA.3.2 subvariant include, runny and blocked nasal passages, dry coughing, fever with chills and fatigue, muscle pains or headaches, loss of sense of taste and smell and in some cases, mild difficulty breathing," the doctor added.