The coronavirus pandemic has seen variants emerge all over the world. Here is why we must stop naming them according to the names of the countries where they appeared.
Indian variant, Brazilian variant, English variant and even Breton variant, with each mutation of the coronavirus its local adjective, depending on where it has been formally identified. However, the WHO decided to propose a different denomination, using the letters of the Greek alphabet. These new names are therefore available for the so-called worrying variants: the B.1.1.7 variant, detected in the United Kingdom, becomes Alpha; B.1.351 (found in South Africa), Beta; P.1 (Brazil), Gamma and B.1.617.2 (detected in India), Delta. For the so-called following variants, the name goes from Epsilon to Kappa.
Why this name change? The pandemic did not only highlight the strengths and weaknesses of national health and solidarity systems. It has also caused an outbreak of anti-Asian racism and international tensions. The new names are more neutral and do not stigmatize the countries (and by extension, their populations) where the various mutations have been discovered.
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Quoted by International mail, Maria Van Kerkhove, epidemiologist and technical manager for Covid-19 at the World Health Organization, said of the change: “No country should be stigmatized for detecting and reporting variants.” Like barrier gestures, a good habit to take.