Doctors are urging people to stay alert as a new Covid variant begins to circulate more widely.
Covid-19 continues to evolve, and the latest mutation is now being reported across roughly half of the US, alongside cases in other parts of the world.
According to specialists, this version of the virus may be showing up more often in children than in older age groups.
The variant — known as BA.3.2 and also nicknamed ‘Cicada’ — does not currently appear to be linked to more severe symptoms than earlier Covid strains.
Even so, it remains Covid, meaning familiar steps such as regular handwashing and using sanitizer where appropriate are still recommended.
And as with previous waves, infection can be more serious for people who are immunocompromised, whether due to age or an existing medical condition.
Dr Neil Maniar, a professor of public health at Northeastern University in Boston, has spoken about what early reporting suggests regarding the Cicada variant.
He warned about the impact of the Cicada variant, telling Huffington Post: “The reports do seem to indicate that this variant is more prevalent in children, as opposed to older populations.
“There are probably a couple of reasons why it is more prevalent among kids,” he added.
One likely explanation is simple exposure: children often spend their days in settings where viruses can pass quickly from person to person.
Schools, daycare facilities, and even summer camps can all increase close contact, making it easier for a variant to spread through groups of kids.
Another possible contributor was raised by Dr William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
He suggested older adults may have more protection because many have previously encountered the virus and also received vaccination.
“The rest of us have at least some partial immunity, because we’ve had so much experience with COVID itself or with the vaccine, whereas young children are less experienced with COVID,” he said.
“I think it’s possible that this new variant is finding them more susceptible and so able to spread among children.”
Dr Maniar also noted that this wouldn’t be the first time a newer strain appeared to hit children differently than adults.
“We had a variant a few years back that was similar, and that may be partly because [kids’] immune systems are still developing,” said Maniar.
“Kids don’t have the same immune memory that older adults do because they just haven’t been exposed over a period of time to as many different pathogens.”