A new, highly mutated COVID variant called 'Cicada' is spreading in the U.S. Know these symptoms

Nbcwashington · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · Mar 27, 2026 · 1425 words · By Caroline Kee l TODAY

Public Health Surveillance Viral Mutation and Immunity Vaccine Efficacy

headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing

Generate a natural audio summary of this story

Daily briefing

What to know about Public Health Surveillance

BA.3.2, a heavily mutated new COVID-19 variant which may be better able to escape immunity from vaccines or prior infection, is now spreading in the United States.

Claims checked 16

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

BA.3.2, a heavily mutated new COVID-19 variant which may be better able to escape immunity from vaccines or prior infection, is now spreading in the United States.

Why it matters

Although COVID cases are currently low nationally, the BA.3.2 strain is gaining traction across the globe.

Common ground

BA.3.2, aka "cicada," emerged over a year ago and slowly simmered until last fall, when it started ramping up in several countries, including the U.S.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Public Health Surveillance story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that It's a descendent of BA.3, an omicron subvariant that emerged in 2022?
How does this story connect Public Health Surveillance with Viral Mutation and Immunity over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/health/new-covid-variant-cicada-spreading-in-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 16 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

schedule Pending 6

verified Verified By Reference 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

verified

Claim 1: “It's a descendent of BA.3, an omicron subvariant that emerged in 2022”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and other sources confirm BA.3.2 is a descendant of the BA.3 omicron subvariant which emerged in 2022.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — BA.3.2 is a heavily mutated Omicron subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The variant was descended from an ancestral version of Omicron Subvariant BA.3 that had not circulated sin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BA.3.2

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — BA.3.2 is descended from the omicron variant, which emerged in late 2021. Compared to the current predominant strains of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, BA.3.2 carries 70 to 75 genetic cha…
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — BA.3.2 is a descendant of the BA.3 Omicron subvariant, which first emerged in 2022 alongside BA.1 and BA.2 but largely faded from circulation. It was initially detected in a respiratory sample in Sout…
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/highly-mut…

check_circle

Claim 2: “BA.3.2, a heavily mutated new COVID-19 variant... is now spreading in the United States.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources, including Scientific American and other web search results, confirm that the BA.3.2 variant is spreading in the United States.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — BA.2.86 is a heavily-mutated Omicron subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. BA.2.86 is notable for having more than thirty mutations on its spike protein relative to BA.2. The subva…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BA.2.86

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — BA.3.2 is a heavily mutated Omicron subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The variant was descended from an ancestral version of Omicron Subvariant BA.3 that had not circulated sin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BA.3.2

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a heavily mutated variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It wa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SARS-CoV-2_Omicron_variant

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

Claim 3: “BA.3.2 has 70–75 mutations in its spike protein”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources consistently report that BA.3.2 has 70-75 mutations in its spike protein.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Cicada (BA.3.2) variant first appeared in South Africa in late 2024 and resurged in 2026It has 70-75 spike protein mutations, more than earlier Omicron variants like BA.1 and JN.1Cicada stands out wit…
https://www.ndtv.com/health/cicada-vs-previous-omicron-strai…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — BA.3.2 has 70–75 mutations in its spike protein — that’s a lot, says Pekosz — which set it apart from JN.1 and LP.8.1, the strains targeted by current COVID-19 vaccines. According to the CDC, BA.3.2 r…
https://www.today.com/health/coronavirus/new-covid-variant-b…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — BA.3.2 has about 70-75 mutations in its spike proteins compared with other strains.A newly identified COVID-19 variant, BA.3.2, has been detected through wastewater surveillance in California, prompti…
https://www.al.com/news/2026/03/new-covid-variant-symptoms-o…

check_circle

Claim 4: “BA.3.2, aka "cicada," emerged over a year ago”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the nickname 'Cicada' and that it emerged in late 2024 (over a year ago relative to the 2026 dates mentioned in other evidence).

menu_book

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 5: “In lab studies, these vaccines were less effective against BA.3.2, but more research is needed, the CDC said.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 6: “The 2025-2026 COVID vaccines, which target the JN.1 lineage, are effective at protecting against severe disease from current strains.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 7: “BA.3.2 was first detected in the U.S. in June 2025 in a traveler returning from the Netherlands at the San Francisco International Airport, the CDC said.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 8: “In laboratory studies, BA.3.2 effectively escaped COVID-19 antibodies due to its spike protein changes, the CDC said.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided or found in the search results to support the claim regarding CDC laboratory studies on antibody escape.

check_circle

Claim 9: “As of February, BA.3.2 has been detected in at least 25 states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results explicitly state that BA.3.2 has been detected in wastewater samples from 25 states.

menu_book

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 10: “BA.3.2 has not shown a sustained growth advantage over other any other co-circulating variant," the WHO said.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 11: “It's driving about 30% of cases in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, per the CDC.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 12: “BA.3.2 was nicknamed “cicada” by T. Ryan Gregory, Ph.D., a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Guelph”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that T. Ryan Gregory, a professor at the University of Guelph, nicknamed the variant 'Cicada'.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Animal Genome Size Database is a catalogue of published genome size estimates for vertebrate and invertebrate animals. It was created in 2001 by Dr. T. Ryan Gregory of the University of Guelph in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Genome_Size_Database

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of notable people who are from Guelph, Ontario, or have spent a large part or formative part of their career in that city.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Guelph

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — T. Ryan Gregory (born May 16, 1975) is a Canadian evolutionary biologist and genome biologist and a Professor of the Department of Integrative Biology and the Division of Genomic Diversity within the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Ryan_Gregory

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 13: “the latest data from WastewaterSCAN... show BA.3.2 has been detected in 3.7% of sewage samples nationwide”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 14: “In December 2025, the World Health Organization classified BA.3.2 as a “variant under monitoring."”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of unrelated search results about firearms and classified ads; no evidence confirms the WHO classification of BA.3.2 in December 2025.

menu_book

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

Claim 15: “BA.3.2 was first identified in November 2024 in South Africa.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (The Independent, Newsweek via TikTok, and other web results) confirm the variant was first identified in South Africa in November 2024.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — BA.3.2 was first detected in November 2024 in a respiratory sample in South Africa; however, it began spreading further in 2025. Researchers have nicknamed it “Cicada,” like an insect. The variant, be…
https://www.firstpost.com/health/what-is-ba-3-2-the-new-covi…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — BA 3.2 or “Cicada” is a subvariant of Omicron and was first identified in #SouthAfrica in November 2024. #newsweek ’s @Sam Stevenson explains more. #publichealth.
https://www.tiktok.com/@newsweek/video/7622011663935491359

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Researchers first identified BA.3.2 in November 2024 in Africa. It started its global trek in 2025 and had made it to 23 countries as of February 2026.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families…

check_circle

Claim 16: “As of Feb. 11, 2026, BA.3.2 has spread to at least 23 countries, per data from the CDC and the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) database.”

CORROBORATED

The Independent reports that the variant had made it to 23 countries as of February 2026.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.