COVID-19 variant BA.3.2 is spreading quickly across US – a doctor explains what you need to know

The BA.3.2 variant of SARS-COV-2, nicknamed Cicada, is gaining ground across the U.S. and globally. Grafissimo/iStock via Getty Images Plus

A variant of COVID-19 called BA.3.2, which has circulated under the radar since late 2024, is now spreading quickly across the United States.

As a pulmonary and critical care doctor, I see many patients who are at high risk for severe COVID-19 due to chronic lung disease, as well as patients living with long COVID. All of them ask me how worried they should be about new variants of the virus.