NEW YORK, NY— A new COVID-19 variant has surfaced in the New York City region, detected not first in hospitals but in the city’s wastewater—an early signal that has preceded past waves.
BA.3.2, a genetically distinct lineage of SARS-CoV-2 nicknamed “Cicada,” has appeared in samples tied to New York, New Jersey and other states, according to federal health officials.
The detections span traveler screenings, clinical testing and wastewater surveillance, a combination researchers say points to broader, undercounted spread.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the variant in nasal swabs from travelers, clinical samples from patients and airplane wastewater, along with more than 100 wastewater samples across 25 states, including New York and New Jersey.
“BA.3.2 represents a new lineage of SARS-CoV-2, genetically distinct from the JN.1 lineages … that have circulated in the United States since January 2024,” study authors wrote.
Researchers traced the lineage to a respiratory sample collected in South Africa in November 2024.
By June 2025, a traveler arriving in the United States from the Netherlands tested positive.
Studies later showed the variant spreading in parts of Europe, where it accounted for about 30 percent of analyzed cases in countries including Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
In New York City, epidemiologists rely on wastewater surveillance to track viral trends across boroughs.
Fragments detected in sewage systems often surface before increases in confirmed cases or hospitalizations, placing BA.3.2 on watchlists across the region.
The variant carries between 70 and 75 mutations in the spike protein, the structure the virus uses to enter human cells.
What Are The Symptoms
Doctors report symptoms that largely mirror earlier COVID-19 infections, with one feature drawing attention, including:
CoughFeverFatigueHeadachesCongestion Loss of taste or smell Could This Cause An Outbreak?
Public health officials are monitoring whether BA.3.2 could alter infection trends in the Northeast, particularly in dense urban areas like New York City.
“It is possible we will see Cicada drive a summer COVID surge and become the dominant strain in the United States; but that is by no means certain,” Robert H. Hopkins, Jr., medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, told Mint.
Experts caution that gaps in genomic surveillance may mask the variant’s true spread. Wastewater detections across multiple states suggest transmission may be more widespread than confirmed case counts indicate.
Will Vaccines Still Work?
The World Health Organization has said existing vaccines and antiviral treatments are expected to continue protecting against severe disease, even as new variants emerge.
Hopkins said the variant’s mutations could affect how well vaccines prevent infection.
“The number of mutations makes it less likely that the current vaccines will be as highly effective against the variant,” he said. “But we need more data to better answer this question.”
Current vaccines were developed based on earlier lineages, including JN.1-related strains, and researchers are now studying how they perform against BA.3.2.
For now, health officials continue to track the variant through sequencing and wastewater data, building a clearer picture of how it moves through New York and beyond.