Here’s why COVID-19 variants are being identified by the Greek alphabet

Health officials and epidemiologists have started referring to variants of the coronavirus with letters from the Greek alphabet to help keep the general public informed on the rising variant cases.

The scientific names for the coronavirus are still being used, the World Health Organization wanted a system to quickly refer to specific variants.

“These scientific names can be difficult to say and recall and are prone to misreporting. As a result, people often resort to calling variants by the places where they are detected, which is stigmatizing and discriminatory,” WHO wrote on its website.

[TRENDING: 5 inland lagoons planned for Central Fla. | HS teacher arrested in Capitol riot | Watch Hurricane Elsa collapse on live radar]

Health leaders hope more officials and media outlets start using the Greek alphabet names to refer to different variants.

WHO has used the Greek alphabet to name variants of concern. A variant of concern is when there is an increase in transmissibility or a change in clinical disease presentation or a decrease in how effective the vaccines are against the variant.

Below is a list of COVID-19 variants of concern:

• Alpha
  • The scientific name is B.1.1.7
  • The strain was first documented in the United Kingdom in September of 2020
• Beta
  • The scientific name is B.1.351 or B.1.351.2 or B.1.351.3
  • The strain was first documented in South Africa in May of 2020
• Gamma
  • The scientific name is P.1 or P1.1 or P.1.2
  • The strain was first documented in Brazil in November of 2020
• Delta
  • The scientific name is B.1.617.2 or AY.1 or AY.2
  • The strain was first documented in India in October of 2020

Health leaders also used the Greek alphabet for variants of interest.

A variant of interest is described as a genetic change known to impact the transmission and or the severity of the coronavirus. A VOI is also identified to cause significant community transmission, according to WHO.

Below is a list of COVID-19 variants of interest:

• Eta
  • The scientific name is B.1.525
  • The strain was first documented in multiple countries in December of 2020
• Iota
  • The scientific name is B.1.526
  • The strain was first documented in the United States in November of 2020
• Kappa
  • The scientific name is B.1.617.1
  • The strain was first documented in India in October of 2020
• Lambda
  • The scientific name is C.37
  • The strain was first documented in Peru in December of 2020