Source article in Fortune. Everyone knows the names of the major COVID variants like Alpha, Delta, and Omicron. But last year, viral evolution shifted, muddying the waters, as well as the names of the major variants. Instead of spawning entirely new variants, COVID began evolving within Omicron itself—at a breakneck pace, no less. The organization responsible for figuring out what to call the latest variants of concern—the World Health Organization—stopped using Greek letters after Omicron, arguing that new variants weren’t different enough to warrant nicknames.
Do you remember the previously ubiquitous COVID strains BA.4, BA.5, or BQ.1.1? Have you heard of the currently surging XBB.1.5, and do you understand what the tangle of letters and numbers mean? You probably don’t—and some experts say it’s because of the convoluted names. You could be forgiven for thinking another strain of Omicron poses no new threat—especially if you’ve already had Omicron or received the new Omicron booster. New strains of Omicron are becoming increasingly more transmissible and evasive, with the ability to dodge immunity from prior vaccination and infection. And using the term “Omicron” or something like XBB.1.5 to describe them just isn’t cutting it anymore, Dr. Ryan Gregory, a biology professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
If you don’t already follow Dr Gregory on Twitter, I highly recommend!
