# We’ve been misled about the name of this pandemic causing virus **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 15, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-ve-been-misled-about-the-name-of-this-pandemic-causing-virus/849510 "2020-03-15T00:59:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-ve-been-misled-about-the-name-of-this-pandemic-causing-virus/849510/1 "2020-03-15T00:59:30Z")
I just learned that COVID-19 is not the name of the current virus but the name of the disease it causes. The official name of the virus is [SARS-CoV-2](https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it), i.e. SARS part II. Apparently the WHO didn’t want to cause “unnecessary fear” by referring it to as another variant of SARS. China must have some pretty incriminating photos of this Tedros guy the way the WHO keeps pandering to them. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-ve-been-misled-about-the-name-of-this-pandemic-causing-virus/849510/2 "2020-03-15T04:07:35Z")
Yeah, those WHO bastards! They’ve been hiding it for over a month, by putting up a notice about it on something called the “Internet”. Apparently you need a computer that has a special programme called a “browser” to be able to access this so-called “post” on this “internet” thing. To make it even worse, the “post” is in foreign languages, like French, and Chinese and Russian! Well in English too, but apparently you need to use another programme, called “Google” or something, to be able to find the “post” in English. Clearly, WHO is doing their best to hide it all from us. > **[Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus that causes it](https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it)** > > An explanation of the official names for the corona virus disease (COVID-2019) and the virus that causes it. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-ve-been-misled-about-the-name-of-this-pandemic-causing-virus/849510/3 "2020-03-15T06:24:18Z")
When the virus was first imaged, (that is, when they got the first pictures of it), it was nCoV-019. Novel Coronavirus (from year 2000 and ) 19. It got an official name ( SARS-CoV-2 ), because it’s not novel anymore. The disease syndrome has been called all kinds of things, and continues to be called all kinds of things. Medically, it started out as “pneumonia”, using whatever the Mandarin term for that is. It changed to be an “acute respiratory syndrome” when the wider range of symptoms were recognized. You, personally, can call the disease and the virus whatever you want. The scientific/medical terms are used by scientific/medical people so that they can be clear about what they are talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-ve-been-misled-about-the-name-of-this-pandemic-causing-virus/849510/4 "2020-03-15T06:42:55Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Yeah, those WHO bastards! …\… To be fair, I don’t think we should be taking medical advice from aging British rock stars in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-ve-been-misled-about-the-name-of-this-pandemic-causing-virus/849510/5 "2020-03-15T06:50:10Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > To be fair, I don’t think we should be taking medical advice from aging British rock stars in the first place. The cure is to smash the mirror you saw the virus in. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-ve-been-misled-about-the-name-of-this-pandemic-causing-virus/849510/6 "2020-03-15T08:22:50Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > You, personally, can call the disease and the virus whatever you want. I started out with calling it “WuFlu”. And the malady afflicting those who buy into any or all of the conspiracy theories around it, I call “WooFlu”. Sadly, the distinction is only apparent in print. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-ve-been-misled-about-the-name-of-this-pandemic-causing-virus/849510/7 "2020-03-15T20:27:29Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > To be fair, I don’t think we should be taking medical advice from aging British rock stars in the first place. Not generally, but they likely have at least some experience with rehab …