Why is the new coronavirus variant called Omikron? [WE EXPLAIN]

The coronavirus variety discovered in the second week of November was named the Omikron variant. This term refers to one of the letters of the Greek alphabet, but the order that was used in the nomenclature of earlier coronavirus strains has been distorted. So why wasn’t the newest variant called the Nu variant? Where did the Omikron variant name come from?

1. A variant of the coronavirus discovered in Africa in early November was named Omikron
2. The logical name for a new strain of coronavirus, however, would be the Nu variant
3. WHO officials felt that the use of Nu or Xi would be problematic
4. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

The latest variant of the coronavirus was discovered on November 11, and has created considerable havoc in the scientific and medical community. It aroused concern due to its structure, numerous mutations and the potential danger that could be posed by its rapid spread. Its name also caused some confusion. Why is the Omikron variant not an expected term?

Nomenclature of Coronavirus Variants

The nomenclature of subsequent variants of the coronavirus was taken from the Greek alphabetto help track the evolution of the pathogen in a structured way. Hence the names of the variants are successively Alpha, Beta, Gamma or Delta.

The last coronavirus strain discovered was the Mu variant. For this reason too it seemed logical that the most recent variant B.1.1.529 discovered in Africa would be called the Nu variant. This is also how it was initially described by the media. So why ultimately it turned out that we are dealing with a variant of Omikron?

See also: Not British and Indian anymore. New names for coronavirus variants

Further part under the video.

Omikron variant – where does the name come from?

Omicron is an unexpected name for a novel coronavirus variant because Two letters of the Greek alphabet – Nu and Xi – were omitted. Certain formal issues stood in the way of their use. As reported by the representative of the World Health Organization, Tarik Jasarevic, the term Nu could have too much connotation with the English “new” (new). Meanwhile, the next letter, or Xi, is a common Chinese surname. He wears them, among others the current chairman of the People’s Republic of China – Xi Jinping.

Jasarevic explained that the organization’s policy focuses on “avoiding situations that could offend cultural, social, national, regional, professional or ethnic groups”. The problem of naming has been raised before by the scientific community, which drew attention to the risk of stigmatizing specific places and their inhabitants.

As can be seen, during the pandemic the WHO organization decided to depart from the old practice of naming diseases or pathogens with terms referring to geographical locations. Examples of such names in the language are the Spanish flu, West Nile fever, Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Ebola virus and Zika virus.

Read also:

1. The most dangerous viruses in the world – Ebola, HIV, SARS, yellow fever virus
2. Mutation, variant, strain, variant of the coronavirus. Can these terms be used interchangeably? [WE EXPLAIN]
3. The most dangerous variants of the coronavirus. What do we know about them?

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