A new, highly mutated variant of COVID-19 is beginning to rear its head in Maryland and other states in the nation.

Doctors are calling it the cicada variant because of its latent rise after first being detected last year.

The variant is already making up about 30% of COVID infections in places like Eastern Europe.

Now, it’s accounting for a growing number of infections in the U.S. that could account for a summer surge of the disease.

Dr. Tyler Evans, the former New York City Chief Medical Officer, says doctors fear the current vaccine isn’t as effective against the new variant.

“While there would be some protections, it could reduce the efficacy of some of our vaccines out there,” Evans said.

Luckily, the variant is not any more severe than other types of COVID, however, its ability to infect people despite being vaccinated.

“We're not seeing any sort of any major material difference in terms of how sick people are getting or hospitalizations. It's really just that it's the immune escape piece that's really key,” Evans said.

People may have to wait until the fall for the vaccine to be tweaked, approved and disseminated to the public to focus on the cicada variant, if it becomes the dominant strain.

Currently, Maryland is seeing a small bump in COVID cases with about two people per 100,000 infected.

Symptoms of COVID include coughing, fever, runny nose and loss of smell and taste.

Doctors recommend getting vaccinated despite the current shot not being targeted to the specific variant. Medical experts also say it’s important to frequently wash your hands and wear a mask and isolate if you’re experiencing symptoms.