In a decision that echos the WHO’s decision back in early 2020 to rename the novel coronavirus to “COVID-19”, the agency has decided to change the names of the most prominent mutant strains of the coronavirus to letters from the Greek alphabet.
Using letters like Alpha, Beta and Gamma (instead of B.1.1.7, B.1.351 and P.1) to refer to the variants will make it “easier and more practical” to discuss them with non-scientific audiences, the WHO said in a statement. COVID strains believed to be more infectious are deemed “of interest” and “of concern” by the WHO.
“While they have their advantages, these scientific names can be difficult to say and recall, and are prone to misreporting,” the WHO said in a statement.
Of course, the names will also prevent the press from referring to the mutant strains as the “Brazilian” variant, or the “South African” variant: in short, nations would like to avoid being associated with various COVID mutants, just like China pushed for the WHO to label the virus “COVID-19” so as to avoid the press and others from calling it the “China virus”. As analysts from Rabobank pointed out, the new system eliminates the “stigma” attached to the previous names.
“Meanwhile, the official US intelligence search goes on for the ‘Alpha’ of Covid-19, and the knock-on ‘Omega’ of the conclusion is far from clear,” Rabo analysts added.
The choice of the Greek Alphabet came after months of deliberations in which other possibilities such as Greek Gods and invented, pseudo-classical names were considered by experts, according to bacteriologist Mark Pallen who was involved in the talks.- READ MORE
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