A newly identified COVID-19 variant, informally dubbed Cicada, has been detected in limited clusters across multiple regions, prompting scientists to closely monitor its characteristics, transmissibility, and potential impact.
Early analyses suggest that although the variant has a distinct set of mutations, there is currently no evidence that it is more dangerous than previous strains such as COVID-19 variants like Delta or Omicron.
Researchers say that Cicada appears to have evolved from an Omicron sub-lineage, accumulating additional mutations mainly in the spike protein, which helps the virus enter human cells.
