Show threaddatum (n=1)Apr 29

@mediaevalfishsandwich Still hunting for that stronger "like" than "like" for "thank you that was very informative": that's a great paper!!

RBD-ACE2 binding affinity ... BA.3.2 exhibits disastrously low fitness compared to LP.8.1.1

and in human plasma

in human plasma, BA.3.2 also demonstrated profound humoral immune evasion, with an 11-fold reduction in geometric mean neutralizing titer (NT50) compared to BA.3

and re: what the smarties in the xcancel thread were saying about China's different immune landscape:

Class 1/4 antibodies are prevalent in Chinese populations immunized with inactivated vaccines, where immune imprinting is less pronounced In contrast, mRNA vaccine recipients with stronger immune imprinting rarely develop these antibodies, which may cause divergent neutralization responses against BA.3.2 between these groups.

Figure 3 of that paper, too - very informative!

#COVID #COVID19 #SARSCoV2 #BA32 #immunology

香港01Apr 16
被稱為「蟬」病毒（Cicada）的新冠病毒變種BA.3.2雖已殺入香港，該變異毒株亦已被世界衞生組織列入密切監測名單。不過，香港專家指，BA.3.2病毒症
https://www.hk01.com/社會新聞/60340776/蟬病毒是什麼-專家料新冠新變種不會成港主流病株-籲高危群打針
Show threadsport of sacred spherical cowsApr 11

Most recent #CDC dataset, updated Friday, shows two Stratus XFG variants, XFG.1.1 and newcomer XFG.23.1.3 / RV, gaining ground against their dynastic cousins.

Meanwhile, Nimbus 1.8.1 / PQ family also gained share, even as the XFY recombinant was overshadowed by its fellow PQ variants.

Note that, in absence of robust data from states, CDC has given up modeling historical estimates, instead giving only shares of reported sequences.

Raj's dashboard, updated near two weeks ago, showed Stratus-Eleventy XFG.1.1, alone, at a quarter share, for the last half of the most recent reporting period, while Cicada #BA32 grandkid RE.2 made a significant appearance in GISAID data (despite Cicada not yet showing up in CDC estimates.)

That said, said GISAID data was dominated by paltry submissions from New York (171), Minnesota (85), Maryland (84), Nebraska (53), and Arizona (17).

❖ #ThisIsOurPolio #variants #CovidIsNotOver #dataviz #datavis

WHNApr 6

🚨 A new COVID variant, BA.3.2 ("Cicada"), has been detected in the U.S. and internationally.

With 50+ spike mutations relative to BA.3, significant immune evasion is expected. Continued precautions matter.

How to protect yourself and others:
- Improve indoor air quality (ventilation + filtration)
- Wear a respirator-quality mask in shared spaces
- Stay up to date on vaccination
- Test if symptomatic or after exposure
- Avoid in person meetings and stay home when sick

#COVID19 #BA32

datum (n=1)Apr 5

I have been worrying about this for days but don't have the spoons to dig in:

BA.3.2 lost its ability to bind tightly to ACE-2 receptors on cells [1]

Remember that Long COVID rates were much higher during Delta? Remember that Delta was much more prone to syncytia (not needing ACE2 at all) in part because it had reduced ACE-2 affinity?

syncytia formation via the highly fusogenic Delta spike promotes cellular senescence and extracellular cytokine release [2]

and I know I read (skimmed) a paper suggesting that this method of direct contact cell-cell transmission was driving Long COVID - aha here:

We propose the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 transitions to persistent infection, facilitated by syncytia formation [3]

[1] https://archive.md/HWOHt#selection-3205.38-3205.105
[2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10785701/
[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40535019/

#COVID #COVID19 #SARSCoV2 #CovidIsNotOver #BA32 #syncytia #syncytial

Show threadIvi ChocApr 4
#covid19 #covid #sarscov2 #cancer #variant #BA32 #CDC "approximately 70–75 substitutions and deletions in the gene sequence of the spike protein..." "... have the potential to reduce protection from a previous infection or vaccination."
Show threadIvi ChocApr 4
#covid19 #covid #sarscov2 #cancer #variant #BA32 #CDC Original open access article Shakya et al. March 19, 2026, MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 75(10);130–137 Early Detection and Surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.3.2 — Worldwide, November 2024–February 2026 www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

Early Detection and Surveillan...
Early Detection and Surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 ...

This report describes early detection and surveillance ...

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Show threadIvi ChocApr 4

#covid19 #covid #sarscov2 #cancer #variant #BA32 #CDC

Original open access article

Shakya et al. March 19, 2026, MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 75(10);130–137

Early Detection and Surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.3.2 — Worldwide, November 2024–February 2026

"approximately 70–75 substitutions and deletions in the gene sequence of the spike protein "
"... have the potential to reduce protection from a previous infection or vaccination."

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/75/wr/mm7510a1.htm

Early Detection and Surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 ...

This report describes early detection and surveillance ...

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
NewsletterTFApr 4

The Cicada Mutation: A Structural Drift in SARS-CoV-2

The new Cicada Covid variant BA.3.2 has 70-75 mutations. It may be harder for current vaccines and past infections to fight it. Health officials are watching it closely.

#CovidVariant, #CicadaVariant, #BA32, #VaccineEvasion, #PublicHealth

https://newsletter.tf/cicada-covid-variant-ba-3-2-mutations-vaccine-evasion/

NewsletterTFApr 4

The new Cicada Covid variant BA.3.2 has up to 75 mutations, which is much more than previous strains. This could make current vaccines less effective.

#CovidVariant, #CicadaVariant, #BA32, #VaccineEvasion, #PublicHealth
https://newsletter.tf/cicada-covid-variant-ba-3-2-mutations-vaccine-evasion/

New Cicada Covid Variant BA.3.2 Has 75 Mutations, May Evade Vaccines

The new Cicada Covid variant BA.3.2 has 70-75 mutations. It may be harder for current vaccines and past infections to fight it. Health officials are watching it closely.

NewsletterTF