Is COVID Coming Back?
Now, why would I think that COVID is coming back?
Well, there is news of a new COVID variant, Cicada, starting to spread in the US and other countries.
Even Fox News is reporting that RFK Jr.’s CDC has raised concerns about this new COVID variant!
Is COVID Coming Back?
So does that mean that COVID is coming back?
If by COVID, you mean the COVID pandemic, then no, it does not mean that.
It doesn’t even necessarily mean that the COVID virus is coming back, as technically, it never left!
In fact, COVID is still killing people, especially people who haven’t recently been vaccinated.
Still, the number of COVID deaths is far, far lower than they were during the peak of the pandemic.
A new variant could change that though.
“As of February 11, 2026, BA.3.2 had been reported in 23 countries. Detections began increasing in September 2025. In the United States, BA.3.2 was detected in nasal swabs from four travelers, three airplane wastewater samples, clinical samples from five patients, and 132 wastewater samples from 25 U.S. states.”
Early Detection and Surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.3.2 — Worldwide, November 2024–February 2026
But no one is saying to panic or to run out and get vaccinated if you aren’t high risk, especially as we don’t even know how well our current vaccine works against this new variant.
“BA.3.2 mutations in the spike protein have the potential to reduce protection from a previous infection or vaccination.”
Early Detection and Surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.3.2 — Worldwide, November 2024–February 2026
And everyone who is high risk has hopefully already been vaccinated!
Fortunately, we have heard about many of these new variants before, and then nothing much has come of them. They have not often led to surges that have gotten a lot of us sick.
Then there are the ones that have though.
Both the Delta and Omicron variants led to major COVID surges around the world.
Still, they both appeared early in the pandemic.
So, why should we be concerned about a new variant now?
Well, it is mostly because there have been fewer COVID infections during the last few years and fewer people have been getting vaccinated.
That means that many more people are once again susceptible to getting sick, especially if this new variant has changed that much.
Still, the only reason to panic would be if RFK Jr.'s HHS has messed up things so much that we can’t get a new COVID vaccine out if we need it!
More on the Return of COVID
Is It Statistically Impossible to Have 15 Vaccinated Friends Die Suddenly?
Q&A on Reducing COVID-19 Risk for Elderly, Immunocompromised
New COVID variant with immune escape potential confirmed in US, 22 other countries
OWiD. Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases & deaths per million people, Jan 1, 2026
How Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda Risks a Resurgence of Deadly Childhood Plagues
Mortality in Norway and Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic 2020-22: A comparative study
Another great column.