# Virus Variant Naming **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 16, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047 "2021-03-16T22:06:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ishamael69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@ishamael69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ishamael69)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/1 "2021-03-16T22:06:21Z")
The WHO has guidelines about naming pathogens based on place names, and rightfully so as the “China Virus” moniker has clearly been used in a racist way. So why are we now hearing the news and such refer to the South African variant, or the UK variant of COVID-19? Shouldn’t those fall under the same naming? Do we really think that if a more lethal strain originates out of Mexico calling it the “Mexican Strain” won’t lead to the same recist outcomes as calling it the “China Virus” does? ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/2 "2021-03-16T23:36:22Z")
Previous topics: > [@Regional Virus names bad. So what do we call the new variants?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-virus-names-bad-so-what-do-we-call-the-new-variants/931715): > > You may remember early reports of the “China Virus”, but the World Health Organization did not recognize that – the decision to refrain from geographic titles for viruses was made long before. So what are the proper names for “the UK Variant” or the “South African Variant” that keep popping up in the news? Hopefully something that is concise. > [@"China virus" is clearly racist. Why isn't "UK variant"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-virus-is-clearly-racist-why-isnt-uk-variant/932222): > > I am firmly in the camp that using the phrase “China virus” is racist on its face and that anyone that uses it is doing so to parrot Trump who is IMO, a racist. But when I hear the phrases “UK variant”, “Brazilian variant”, or “South African variant”, I don’t think of racism at all. I prefer to be consistent in my thinking and I’m having difficulty justifying my thoughts. I’m left with the conclusion that “China virus” isn’t in and of itself a racist phrase but that there is an underlying mes… Basically, no one had a variant naming system in place so the media is making the call. I personally think a variant getting named for a country is less troublesome than the whole disease. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/3 "2021-03-17T00:19:12Z")
Well calling it the Wuhan Flu was a misnomer because it wasn’t the flu, it was called that just to politicalize the disease and spread misinformation. Which helped to feed a lot of distrust in the former administration. China Virus is accurate in itself, but tying it to an outright attack by the Chinese’s without providing any proof just led to greater mistrust in the situation. At a time when we needed leadership we got name calling and finger pointing. So if we have a strain from Compton, go ahead and call it the Straight Outta Compton virus please. Just don’t tie it to BLM and expect to get my respect. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/4 "2021-03-17T00:40:41Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > but tying it to an outright attack by the Chinese’s without providing any proof just led to greater mistrust in the situation. I didn’t hear that out of anything but the looney crowd. The worst I saw was accusations of a deliberate coverup. Regardless, the fact that Trump deliberately tried to blame China doesn’t really have much to do with the variant names. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/5 "2021-03-17T00:42:36Z")
It does when you tie the name in with a racist attack from the head of the loonies. Dog whistles. I have no issue with calling it the China virus and leaving it at that. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/6 "2021-03-17T00:46:04Z")
Plenty of places to talk about how awful Trump is. What does that have to do with Virus Variant Naming? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/7 "2021-03-17T00:47:30Z")
Well because Trump kept bring it up and now we are talking about what is wrong with calling it the China virus and why we wouldn’t be upset with the UK strain. Like the past didn’t happen. The UK strain isn’t being tied to racism against the UK. Nor is the South African strain. A different administration is taking a normal tone towards disease control and response. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/8 "2021-03-17T00:52:41Z")
The WHO guidance on virus naming predates Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/9 "2021-03-17T00:57:53Z")
But he had a larger audience in the US and cut off the funding and advice from the WHO. He made it clear that it was his administrations policy to blame the virus on the Chinese government and people. That is no longer the present administrations policy. As I have clearly said, I’m OK with calling it the China virus and leaving it as that. I agree with the WHO. But the answer as to why calling it the China virus was deemed racist is because a racist in a high position of influence used it that way. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/10 "2021-03-17T01:08:59Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > As I have clearly said, I’m OK with calling it the China virus and leaving it as that. I agree with the WHO. The clarity kinda breaks down because the WHO rather does not agree with calling it the China virus and leaving it at that. Anyway, variant names are problematic. They should probably come up with something like hurricane naming. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/11 "2021-03-17T01:15:43Z")
Problem is that anything can be turned racist if the racist start using it as such and uneducated people start repeating it. The OK hand sign is an example. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/12 "2021-03-17T11:07:35Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Well calling it the Wuhan Flu was a misnomer because it wasn’t the flu, it was called that just to politicalize the disease and spread misinformation. Which helped to feed a lot of distrust in the former administration. China Virus is accurate in itself, but tying it to an outright attack by the Chinese’s without providing any proof just led to greater mistrust in the situation. At a time when we needed leadership we got name calling and finger pointing. “China virus” is a crummy name, as a whole bunch of viruses have their origins in China. “Wuhan virus” isn’t any better; there are something like a dozen viruses that have their origin there. Those names also don’t tell you anything useful, like what the infectious agent is (a coronavirus in this case, as opposed to a bacterium) or what it does (SARS). Here’s **[WHO’s “best practices” document for naming new viruses, released in 2015](https://www.who.int/news/item/08-05-2015-who-issues-best-practices-for-naming-new-human-infectious-diseases)**. As noted upthread, there is no WHO scheme for naming variants. Some researchers/discoverers have given the variants names based on their particular genetic differences relative to the original SARS-COV2 virus, but those names aren’t official or widely publicized - and they don’t stick in a reader’s mind as deeply as one named after a country. Someone writing an article for CNN is not going to go with “B.1.1.7 variant,” they’ll go with “South African variant,” and it’s going to be hard to convince them to use anything else because there isn’t an official name for it like there is for the original virus. WHO should probably work on that, although it could be as simple as “SARS-COV2-A”, “SARS-COV2-B”, etc. But even those are kind of clumsy on the evening news. Could probably just boil it down to “A strain”, “B strain”, etc. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/13 "2021-03-17T13:28:36Z")
How about using colors? “The red variant, first detected in South Africa, is resistant to the Oxford vaccine.” “The blue variant, first detected in the UK, seems to be much more contagious than the more common version” If those variants become more widespread, people will remember which is the red variant and which is the blue variant. Although I agree than naming variants after where they were first detected is less offensive to me than China Virus, but I can’t explain why. If nothing else, it seems unlikely that South Africans or Brits will get beat up in the US because of the naming, unlike the uptick in anti-Asian violence we’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/14 "2021-03-17T13:44:01Z")
Were the Spaniards upset with the Spanish Flu in 1918? ---
**Author:** ![ishamael69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@ishamael69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ishamael69)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/15 "2021-03-17T14:18:29Z")
I like the idea of colors or letters, personally. I think the reason that the variants seem to be less offensive is simply because of the relationship the current areas have to the US and the fact that those variants do not seem significant more concerning than the virus in general. In one of the other threads mentioned by FigNorton (thanks for pointing those out), it is mentioned that the UK news is using the moniker “Kent variant” to “poke fun at the inhabitants of south-eastern England (and it’s status as the gateway to Europe)”. Isn’t that how this stuff starts off? I think if you have a variant that is significantly more lethal, it will lead to more racist usage and fear-mongering. I also think that a Mexican variant (even if it is less lethal) would lead to racist usage in the US, as would a middle-eastern country variant. Do you really think there would be no no racist connotations made if we had an Israeli variant? Why give people the opportunity? ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/16 "2021-03-17T14:28:44Z")
At this point though, it’s too late to get an internationally agreed naming system for variants. Hopefully next pandemic. Lol. One thing to bear in mind is that there’s countless variants being found. The vast majority can be left to the letter.#.#.# naming. We would only really need to name “variants of concern”. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/17 "2021-03-17T14:30:23Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Were the Spaniards upset with the Spanish Flu in 1918? Yes! > Spaniards called the highly contagious disease “The Soldier of Naples” after a catchy song popular at the time. But when the deadly virus exploded across the world and became known as “Spanish influenza,” Spain protested that its people were being falsely stigmatized. From here: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/03/23/spanish-flu-chinese-virus-trump/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/03/23/spanish-flu-chinese-virus-trump/) I think I’ve read that the Spanish Flu actually started in the US. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/18 "2021-03-17T15:40:07Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > Anyway, variant names are problematic. They should probably come up with something like hurricane naming. I think just naming them “Variant A”, “Variant B”, “Variant C”, etc. as they’re discovered would be simplest and best. Isn’t that basically how various hepatitises (hepatiti?) were named? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/19 "2021-03-17T15:44:01Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > “The blue variant, first detected in the UK, seems to be much more contagious than the more common version” Hmmm. I like the color idea but “more common version” has to go. How about “Corona Classic”? 😆 ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047/20 "2021-03-17T16:09:45Z")
I suppose. That’s basically hurricane naming though. They assign names but it’s alphabetically done. Abigail is first, Bartholomew second, etc. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-variant-naming/938047.md?page=2)