A mutated strain of the COVID-19 virus, first detected in the U.S. in a traveler to SFO, is increasingly appearing across the country. A March 19 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detailed the rise of the COVID-19 BA.3.2 variant. This mutated version of the COVID-19 virus contains genetic changes on a key protein that can help it hide from immune cells, even in vaccinated individuals. “BA.3.2 mutations in the spike protein have the potential to reduce protection from a previous infection or vaccination,” CDC researchers said in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. “Continued genomic surveillance is needed to track SARS-CoV-2 evolution and determine its potential effect on public health.”
The strain has been found in 23 countries so far and was first detected in the U.S. when a traveler from the Netherlands tested positive at SFO in June 2025, as part of the CDC’s Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance program. As of Feb. 11, the viral variant has now been detected in five individuals and in 25 states via wastewater, including California and specifically in SFO wastewater.