Should You Be Worried About The New COVID Variant That Is Rapidly Spreading?

A new COVID variant called BA.3.2 (the “Cicada” variant) is spreading rapidly worldwide and was detected in nearly 23 countries last month.

The variant’s genetic composition is highly mutated compared with the original virus.

A wastewater heatmap shows incidence counts in multiple U.S. states: California (2), Connecticut (6), Florida (2), Hawaii (2), Idaho (1), Illinois (1), Maine (19), Maryland (6), Massachusetts (9), Missouri (1), Nevada (1), New Hampshire (17), New Jersey (3), New York (7), Pennsylvania (4), Rhode Island (27), South Carolina (1), Texas (1), Utah (3), Vermont (1), Virginia (1), Wyoming (2).

During the 2024 respiratory virus season the virus accounted for approximately 390,000–550,000 hospitalizations and 45,000–64,000 deaths.

According to the CDC, symptoms remain similar to the original virus—cough, fatigue, fever and body aches—with more serious cases causing brain fog, shortness of breath, respiratory distress or failure, and long-term effects.