A new Omicron subvariant is moving fast

Just when the world had settled into a fragile kind of routine with Covid-19, another SARS-CoV-2 subvariant has started to make noise. The strain, known as BA.3.2 and informally dubbed “Cicada” by scientists on social media, is spreading quickly, especially in the United States.

First identified in South Africa in late 2024, the variant stayed relatively quiet for months before accelerating in spring 2026. It has now been detected in more than 20 countries.

Italy is not exactly watching this from the sidelines. According to the latest weekly monitoring from the Ministry of Health and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, BA.3.2 has been present in the country since at least December 2025 and has been dominant since February. Even so, it has not yet produced a noticeable impact on infections or Covid-related hospital admissions. At the moment, samples attributable to the variant account for 45% of the total.

Why scientists call it “Cicada”

The nickname is unofficial, but the reasoning is straightforward enough. Cicadas spend a long time hidden underground before emerging all at once, and that is the behaviour researchers think this subvariant has shown so far.

As Ivan Gentile, professor of infectious diseases and director of the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery at the University of Naples Federico II, explains, BA.3.2 belongs to the Omicron family and carries around 70 genetic mutations on the Spike protein.

That matters because Spike is the part of the virus most directly involved in infection and the main target of the immune response. In practical terms, those changes appear to give the variant a better ability to slip past immunity built up from previous infections and vaccination.

Gentile points to one issue in particular: the genetic distance between Cicada and the JN.1 lineage, which was used as the basis for the latest vaccine boosters. The broader the gap, the harder it can be for the immune system to recognise the virus immediately. The vaccine is not suddenly useless, because reality rarely cooperates that neatly, but it may be less effective at preventing infection from BA.3.2.

“It is true that the vaccine could be less active, but a booster can certainly strengthen immunity,” Gentile said. “A vaccine update is still advisable, especially for very elderly people or vulnerable individuals.”

Symptoms are familiar, which is part of the problem

For now, the available data do not suggest that Cicada is more aggressive than earlier variants.

The symptoms reported so far are the same ones people have come to know from recent Omicron waves:

  • sore throat
  • nasal congestion
  • dry cough
  • fatigue
  • low-grade fever
  • muscle aches

Gentile says the variant does not appear to have greater pathogenicity than others currently circulating. The concern is more about scale than severity. If the number of infections rises sharply, the number of severe cases is likely to rise too, even if those cases remain a minority.

“That said, if the total number of cases increases significantly, the impact on hospitals could also grow,” Gentile noted. “The severe cases will still be a minority and will mainly involve fragile people, such as older adults, those with chronic illnesses, immunosuppression, and so on.”

WHO status and what health authorities are recommending

For the time being, the World Health Organization has classified BA.3.2 as a Variant Under Monitoring.

That is not a full alarm bell, but it is not exactly a reassuring pat on the back either. It means the variant is being tracked closely because of its spread and its genetic characteristics.

Health authorities continue to recommend the usual precautions, especially to protect older adults and vulnerable people, who remain at higher risk of hospitalisation if infected.

The practical takeaway is simple enough: BA.3.2 is not yet showing signs of being more dangerous, but it is spreading quickly, carrying significant mutations, and showing enough immune evasion to keep virologists interested. In the world of respiratory viruses, that is usually where the trouble starts.