Name: What we know about the new COVID-19 variant
Uploaded: 2026-04-02T16:20:31.622Z
Duration: 3 min 39 s
Description: A new COVID-19 variant, the BA.3.2 strain, has been detected in at least 25 states, the CDC says. Dr. Amesh Adalja joins CBS News with more details.

A new COVID-19 variant, the BA.3.2 strain, has been detected in at least 25 states, the CDC says. Dr. Amesh Adalja joins CBS News with more details.

Washington

A new COVID-19 variant, referred to as the cicada variant, is being tracked by both the CDC and World Health Organization after its detection in at least 25 U.S. states and 23 countries since 2024. Infectious disease expert Dr. Amish Adalja explained that the cicada variant is an Omicron offshoot and part of the ongoing evolution of COVID-19, which is expected to remain an endemic respiratory virus.

Symptoms of the cicada variant are similar to other Omicron strains, including cough, runny nose, sore throat, and fever. While the variant is not currently dominant in the U.S. or globally, experts recommend high-risk individuals stay updated on vaccines, use antivirals if needed, and continue preventive measures such as mask-wearing, ventilation, and staying home when sick.

What we know about the new COVID-19 variant

Listen up, a new COVID-19 variant is spreading across the country. The CDC and World Health Organization are both monitoring what's been dubbed the cicada variant. The most recent data we have from the CDC is from February, and it shows the strain has been detected across at least 25 states. Look closely at this map. Yours might be one of them. Cicada was first identified back in 2024, and since then it's also been detected in at least 23 countries. Dr. Amish Adalja is an infectious disease doctor and a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. You may remember him from the pandemic where he was helping to bring clarity on what was happening around us. He joins us now to see what is important on this topic. Joining us from Pittsburgh, Dr. Good morning. What do we need to know about this variant? We need to know that this variant is kind of part of the march of variants that we're always going to see. COVID-19 isn't going to disappear. It's an endemic respiratory virus. It's going to be with us year in and year out, basically forever. And the virus is going to continue to evolve and evolve to get around some of the immunity that's in the population from vaccines and prior infections. And it's important to track these because we might need to update the vaccine, but it's not a reason for panic. It's a reason to watch this variant to see what it does, but it's not likely to cause anything remotely like what we had seen in earlier eras of the pandemic because we have so many tools and so much immunity in the population. Which is a relief to hear. I understand this variant is an offshoot of Omicron. What should people know about the symptoms and are children anymore at risk? So this is an offshoot of Omicron. Omicron has basically dominated the variants since November of 2021. And the symptoms are all part of that same spectrum of upper respiratory, cold and flu-like symptoms of cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, headache, muscle aches and pains. And anybody can really get this infection. It's not that more people are susceptible. Everybody is susceptible to COVID-19, even with the vaccine, because the vaccine doesn't necessarily always protect against infection. The key thing with COVID to remember are there are groups that are at high risk for severe disease, for hospitalization. And those are the individuals who want to be careful when COVID is increasing in their community. Those are the individuals who should be getting the updated vaccines. Those are the individuals who should be asking for an antiviral if they get sick. So it's really about making sure that we're managing that risk and preventing hospitalizations, preventing deaths with COVID. And we've gotten better at doing it, but there are still deaths that are occurring from COVID that shouldn't really be occurring if people were using all the tools that science and medicine have given us. And it may be worth reminding people the tools they can use to avoid contracting this virus. And to also clarify, now that it's through half the country, would you expect it to surge to the rest of the country? Well, even though it's been detected in the wastewater of half of the country, it's still a very minor part of the COVID mix right now. It's not the dominant variant in the United States, even in countries where it's widespread, like Germany, for example, it's not the majority of the COVID cases. So we do expect it to increase. Whether it becomes the dominant variant or not remains to be seen. But again, we've got tools like vaccines and antivirals, and then simple things, a cough etiquette if you're sick, staying home if you're sick, doing things outdoors, increasing ventilation. And if you're high risk and choose to do so, wearing a mask also plays some role. That's a little bit controversial to say in this era, but masks can help for those individuals who want to use a mask. Yeah, I see people choosing to wear masks for all sorts of reasons. Dr. Amish Adalja, thanks so much for your insight today. Thanks for having me.

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