WHO’s new naming system for Covid-19 variants uses letters of the Greek alphabet
On May 12, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had issued an official statement that WHO has not associated the term “Indian Variant” with B.1.617— a VOC.
The WHO, however, said that the established nomenclature systems for naming and tracking SARS-CoV-2 genetic lineages by GISAID, Nextstrain and Pango are “currently and will remain in use by scientists and in scientific research”.
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In the backdrop of communication from several countries and agencies to consider ‘easy to pronounce’ and ‘non-stigmatising’ labels for SARS-CoV-2 variant of interest (VOI) and variant of concern (VOC), the WHO Monday announced that it will be using Greek letters as labels for the two categories of mutations.
The WHO has said the VOC B.1.1.7, samples earliest documented in United Kingdom (September 2020) will be called Alpha; VOC B.1.351, samples earliest documented in South Africa (May 2020) will be called Beta; VOC P.1, samples earliest documented in Brazil (November 2020) will be called Gamma; and B.1.617.2, samples earliest documented in India (October 2020) will be called Delta.
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The WHO, however, said that the established nomenclature systems for naming and tracking SARS-CoV-2 genetic lineages by GISAID, Nextstrain and Pango are “currently and will remain in use by scientists and in scientific research”.
“To assist with public discussions of variants, WHO convened a group of scientists from the WHO Virus Evolution Working Group, the WHO COVID-19 reference laboratory network, representatives from GISAID, Nextstrain, Pango and additional experts in virological, microbial nomenclature and communication from several countries and agencies to consider easy-to-pronounce and non-stigmatising labels for VOI and VOC. At the present time, this expert group convened by WHO has recommended using labeled using letters of the Greek Alphabet, i.e., Alpha, Beta, Gamma, which will be easier and more practical to discussed by non-scientific audiences,” the WHO said.
Significantly, on May 12, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had issued an official statement that WHO has not associated the term “Indian Variant” with B.1.617— a VOC.
“Several media reports have covered the news of World Health Organisation (WHO) classifying B.1.617 as a variant of global concern. Some of these reports have termed the B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus as an ‘Indian Variant’. These media reports are without any basis, and unfounded. This is to clarify that WHO has not associated the term ‘Indian Variant’ with the B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus in its 32 page document. In fact, the word “Indian” has not been used in its report on the matter.” MoHFW had earlier said.
Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies.
With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health.
His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award.
Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time.
Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More
