Overview
- State officials report the BA.3.2 subvariant, called Cicada, in California wastewater at low levels with some local reports of clusters in San Francisco and Kern County.
- CDC-linked lab studies show strong immune escape from past infection or vaccination, yet health agencies have seen no clear signal of increased severity.
- California’s latest briefing to clinicians projects a modest late‑summer or early‑fall bump in cases and urges renewed vaccination efforts.
- Only 28.7% of Californians age 65 and older have received the updated shot, and high‑risk people are advised to get two doses spaced six months apart.
- Researchers note that low virus levels in sewage hinder high‑confidence sequencing, which can blur estimates of how common Cicada is right now.