New 'Cicada' Strain Of COVID Spreads To PA: What To Know

A new highly mutated strain of coronavirus is spreading around the United States and has been found in Pennsylvania, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its mutations may allow it avoid vaccines and human antibodies better than previous strains, leading to a wider spread.

The stain called BA.3.2, a subvariant of Omicron, has earned the ominous moniker "cicada" because it has remained largely dormant for the past four years. It's a descendant of the BA. 3 strain that has not circulated since 2022.

The CDC has monitored the spread of BA. 3.2 of using the National Wastewater Surveillance System, along with several other surveillance programs. While wastewater analyses give a broad picture of where the virus has spread, including Pennsylvania, it does not provide a granular, community-level look at how widespread cases are. And those specific numbers have not yet been determined by the CDC.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health, meanwhile, consistently monitors for new strains but has not issued any special guidance in the wake of the rise of the cicada strain.

COVID-19 hospitalizations have remained steady in Pennsylvania in the past month, while the percentage of deaths caused by COVID-19 in the state has continued to trend very gradually upwards. Aside from a brief spike in deaths in early January, the rate has risen from 0.12 percent in June 2025 to 0.97 percent in March 2026.

There are not yet any known symptoms that seem to be unique to cicada, though a lesser immune response to the strain could lead to more severe iterations of traditional COVID-19 symptoms like fatigue, headache, sore throat, fever, gastrointestinal issues, and loss of taste and smell.

While nothing from patients with cicada "necessarily indicates that the variant causes more severe disease, nor does it establish any association with risk factors," there have still been a relatively small number of cases in hospitals, producing limited data. And its ability to circumvent vaccines means it could pose a significant threat in the future.

The strain was first found in the United States on June 27, 2025 at San Francisco International Airport in a passenger who had traveled from the Netherlands.

By Feb. 2026, BA.3.2 had spread to 25 different states, as the latest CDC studies detected the cicada strain 132 wastewater samples in 25 states.

Other states where the strain has been found include Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, , Missouri, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming.