To overcome the complicated naming confusion and at the same time remove the geographical stigma, the World Health Organization (WHO) has created a naming scheme for Corona virus variants.
The names are taken from the Greek alphabet, and are divided into two groups: variants of attention (VoC) and variants of interest (VoI). This naming is expected to give a more "neutral" effect. Previously, naming based on an early identified place was considered a certain corner of the country.
This nomenclature is also not intended to replace scientific labels, but to make it easier for the public, policy makers, and other non-experts to keep track of these virus variants.
Here are the names of the 11 new Corona virus variants as quoted from the WHO website:
Variants of Concern
Alpha / B117 (previously called English variant)
Beta / B1351 (previously called the South African variant)
Gamma / P1 (previously called Brazilian variant)
Delta / B1617.2 (previously called Indian variant)
Variants of Interest
Epsilon / B1427 - B1429 (first found in the US)
Zeta / P2 (first discovered in Brazil)
Eta / B1525 (first found in several countries, unspecified)
Theta / P3 (first discovered in the Philippines)
Iota / B1526 (first discovered in the US)
Kappa / B1617.1 (first discovered in India, also known as the Indian variant)
Lambda / C.37 (first found in Peru).
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