Serious concerns as potentially vaccine-resistant Covid strain spreading in 25 US states

A new and potentially vaccine-resistant strain of Covid-19, named BA.3.2, is spreading across the United States.

This variant, descended from Omicron, was first identified in South Africa in 2024 and detected in the US in June 2025 after a traveler returned from the Netherlands.

Since then, it has been reported in 23 countries worldwide and has already appeared in California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming, Louisiana, Michigan, and Ohio.

BA.3.2 has been discovered in clinical samples from multiple patients across four unidentified US states and in wastewater samples from more than 20 states.

It has also been detected in wastewater samples from three airplane flights, which shows that its reach may extend far beyond what is currently visible in the data.

Concerns Over Vaccine Evasion

Lab studies have revealed that the new strain can evade the body’s protective antibodies triggered by Covid vaccines, likely due to mutations in its spike protein.

This stresses the need for more research on the effectiveness of current vaccines against this variant.

According to The Independent, researchers have said: "The 2025–2026 LP.8.1-adapted mRNA Covid-19 vaccine demonstrates protection against currently predominant JN.1 strains but had the lowest antibody neutralization against BA.3.2 in a laboratory study of seven variants, potentially affecting vaccine-conferred protection."

While these findings raise worries about the vaccine's effectiveness, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reassured that current vaccines are still expected to protect against severe illness, per Open Magazine.

A few BA.3.2 cases were reported in December and January. However, none have been more severe than other Covid infections.

Among the hospitalized patients were two older adults with underlying health conditions and a young child who received outpatient care.

All of the patients involved in these cases survived, and researchers have said that detection does "not necessarily indicate that the variant causes more severe disease, nor does it establish any association with risk factors".

The CDC has highlighted that the emergence of new variants is expected as the virus becomes endemic.

"Every time the virus replicates, it’s essentially buying a couple of evolutionary lottery tickets,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan, told NPR last year. "Most of those are losers. But sometimes it hits a winner."

Rasmussen revealed that minimizing the virus’s opportunities to "replicate," through measures like vaccination and social distancing, is crucial to slowing its evolution.

"Don't let it buy any new lottery tickets," she added.

Featured image credit: RUSLANAS BARANAUSKAS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Getty