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Greek letters to now indicate Covid variants, WHO publishes list of names

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 01 Jun 2021, 05:30 am Print

Greek letters to now indicate Covid variants, WHO publishes list of names WHO|Covid variants

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has decided to use Greek letters to indicate variants that first appeared in a country in a bid to ease discussions and remove the stigma attached to the names.

According to the WHO, the UK variant for instance is referred to as Alpha, the South African Beta, and the Indian as Delta.

"No country should be stigmatised for detecting and reporting variants," the WHO's Covid-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, tweeted.

In early May, the Indian government had criticised the naming of the B.1.617.2 - first found in the country last October as the Indian variant.

In the new system, both variants of concern, and variants of interest will be referred to by the letters. A full list of names can be viewed on the WHO website.

The existing names will continue to exist and the Greek letters will not replace them. A new naming programme will be announced if the more than 24 names are officially identified,  Van Kerkhove told STAT News in an interview.