Why are COVID-19 variants named with Greek letters?
The World Health Organization (WHO) named the COVID-19 variants after Greek letters because it wanted to avoid confusion with the scientific names of the variants and prevent discrimination that comes with naming the variants after locations. The WHO announced the new naming system at the end of May. The organization said the scientific names of the coronavirus variants are difficult to say and remember, and tying the names to places where they were first detected could be stigmatizing and discriminatory.  Just look at the rise in attacks against people of Asian descent since the coronavirus pandemic began: Anti-Asian attacks rose 146% in major U.S. cities from 2019 to 2020, according to a study from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. The labels do not replace existing scientific names, which convey important scientific information & will continue to be used in research. The naming system aims to prevent calling #COVID19 variants by the places where they are detected, which is stigmatizing & discriminatory. pic.twitter.com/MwWGGMXPjn  World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 31, 2021  The WHO also issued guidelines in 2015 that advised against naming diseases after people or animals. Names of plants, lost religions, fruits and made-up words were considered before the WHO decided on Greek letters. Katherine Rodriguez can be reached at krodriguez@njadvancemedia.com. More:  More studies show the importance of the vaccines in fighting coronavirus mutants  Answers to some questions about what the Delta variant means for unvaccinated kids  How herd immunity works and why unvaccinated people shouldnt count on it protecting them