WHO renames coronavirus variants with Greek letters
The UN agency says one aim is to avoid stigmatising the countries where coronavirus variants are first detected.
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WHO renames COVID-19 variants with Greek letters to avoid stigma
- Thread starter SilentPanda
- Start date
- News COVID
The people of Greece are just thrilled about this.
...What swear word does VOC2 resemble? I'm not seeing it.
...What swear word does VOC2 resemble? I'm not seeing it.
VOC just sounds a lot like the f-bomb, how I pronounce it at least.
I mean they leaned on so called variant that had a proper name for the media etc. when it had a proper name but not really memorable for people I guess.
You know the news is just going to do the so called Gamma variant also known as the Brazil variant. Doubt this will do much to quell discrimination, news will still batter the public with it came from…..
You know the news is just going to do the so called Gamma variant also known as the Brazil variant. Doubt this will do much to quell discrimination, news will still batter the public with it came from…..
Good idea. I had always thought about how it was recommended to avoid demonyms in the naming of such things, and how that wasn't being respected with these variants.
OP
OP
There was the plan, but the official name was just not easy to remember and say, so even though the medical and research expert use the official name(Some don't and use their own naming like bird), the general news media and politican find it easier to just use the Country name variant.
So this idea is to have a standard name that everyone can use and easy to use and say.
In the United Kingdom (UK), a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 (known as 20I/501Y.V1, VOC 202012/01, or B.1.1.7)
In South Africa, another variant of SARS-CoV-2 (known as 20H/501Y.V2 or B.1.351)
In Brazil, a variant of SARS-CoV-2 (known as P.1)
And some news did say call it by it's real name. (Don't read comment)
It's not the 'British variant.' It's B.1.1.7
The tendency to name pathogens and diseases by where they seemingly emerged seems almost as contagious as the organisms themselves. But it's wrong.
www.statnews.com
Yeah, but the media aren't gonna call 'em B.1.1.7 or GR/501Y.V2.
Alpha and Beta they can handle.
OP
OP
Their official name is
In the United Kingdom (UK), a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 (known as 20I/501Y.V1, VOC 202012/01, or B.1.1.7)
In South Africa, another variant of SARS-CoV-2 (known as 20H/501Y.V2 or B.1.351)
In Brazil, a variant of SARS-CoV-2 (known as P.1)
And even Covid-19 isn't the official name, it is SARS-CoV-2
I think they already do that, or at least the Canadian media does. They might start off the article with "The B.1.1.7 variant first identified in Britain" or "P1 variant first identified in Brazil", but in the rest of the article they will use the numbers. e.g.
I did notice the BBC using "Indian variant" and "Kent variant" [sic] though.
A good thing to do. Especially when you have idiots like Thailand's government being more concerned with people calling one of the new variants the Thai variant than vaccinating non tourist areas, the elderly, and foreigners.
They literally had a press briefing explaining how it's actually should be called the Egyptian Variant. Bonkers.
They literally had a press briefing explaining how it's actually should be called the Egyptian Variant. Bonkers.
Don't blame them but a bit late on this sadly. I was so tired of having to explain to people that the UK variant wasn't necessarily mutated there but the UK just happened to actually look for the thing. The usa probably had a few variants that never got found to be from there because they refused to actually look for them under trump. Remember being told before of the Spanish flu being more from the usa at the time iirc but Spain actually reported on it and others didn't and they got lumped with the name stigma.
COVID-19 is the disease, SARS-CoV-2 the virus, right? Similar to HIV/AIDS.
Yes but the issue is that they're hard to remember, so reporting just reverts to the geographic location.
Good. I've cringed so much at all the shitrag newspapers in the UK talking about the "Indian variant" etc with thinly-veiled racist disdain.
Yet they couldn't stop crying when the "UK Variant" was talked about a few months ago.
Yet they couldn't stop crying when the "UK Variant" was talked about a few months ago.
Name it after the assholes who had a hand in elevating them.
Modi variant.
Boris variant.
Bolsonaro variant.
ED: We can keep the Greek alphabet for the SA one.
Modi variant.
Boris variant.
Bolsonaro variant.
ED: We can keep the Greek alphabet for the SA one.
So when a new variant comes out, are they just gonna name it and not say where it originated?
I understand what they're trying to do, but I doubt it'll be adopted by the press or the public.
A new strain… Theta… so we should restrict air travel or travel to country… Theta?
I understand what they're trying to do, but I doubt it'll be adopted by the press or the public.
A new strain… Theta… so we should restrict air travel or travel to country… Theta?
Good luck, but it's easier to ascribe meaning and therefore a memory to place name-variant than theta-variant.
Fuck don't do that. Omega strain and shit!
Roman numerals? Sigma III or whatever
Roman numerals? Sigma III or whatever
Is Alpha the first variant discovered in the world and so on or they fucked it up again?
Aaah, I was saying Vee-Oh-Cee.
Although calling it Covid FUCK 3 would help remind people how serious it is.
i feel like the WHO is not very quick to tamp down these problems. Why did they wait 6 months to figure out they wanted to use Greek letters? Who makes these decisions? It doesn't even take a doctor to think up this idea. They just need a guy saying "oh yeah we should do this"
