WHO Gives Greek Names to Covid-19 Variants
The previous naming by the country of origin was reportedly said to be causing stigmatization to the nations involved, with some like India expressing grumbling.
Justin Nzioka 
International health agency World Health Organization (WHO) will from today onwards use Greek letters in identifying various Covid-19 variants.
WHO began by issuing the UK, South African, and also Indian variants with new names. For instance, UK will be identified as Alpha, while South African will be Beta, with Indian being Delta.
According to the WHO, the renaming will help to do away with the stigmatization associated with the previous names. In May, for example, India expressed dissatisfaction after WHO named a variant originating from the country as Indian.
"No country should be stigmatized for detecting and reporting variants,” read a recent tweet by the WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove.
According to Ms. Van Kerkhove, the Greek naming won't interfere with the scientific names already in place. Should the variants exceed 24, then the naming will automatically shut, and a new one announced.
Further, the Greek naming was aimed at easing the conversation touching on the variants.
