1.0Dear Pandemichttps://dearpandemic.orgGretchen Petersonhttps://dearpandemic.org/author/gretchenpeterson/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://dearpandemic.org/new-names-for-variants/">WHO announces new names for SARS-CoV-2 variants</a></blockquote> <script type='text/javascript'> <!--//--><![CDATA[//><!-- /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(c,d){"use strict";var e=!1,n=!1;if(d.querySelector)if(c.addEventListener)e=!0;if(c.wp=c.wp||{},!c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage)if(c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(t)if(t.secret||t.message||t.value)if(!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var r,a,i,s=d.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),n=d.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=0;o<n.length;o++)n[o].style.display="none";for(o=0;o<s.length;o++)if(r=s[o],e.source===r.contentWindow){if(r.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message){if(1e3<(i=parseInt(t.value,10)))i=1e3;else if(~~i<200)i=200;r.height=i}if("link"===t.message)if(a=d.createElement("a"),i=d.createElement("a"),a.href=r.getAttribute("src"),i.href=t.value,i.host===a.host)if(d.activeElement===r)c.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)c.addEventListener("message",c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),d.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",t,!1),c.addEventListener("load",t,!1);function t(){if(!n){n=!0;for(var e,t,r=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 10"),a=!!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident.*rv:11\./),i=d.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),s=0;s<i.length;s++){if(!(e=i[s]).getAttribute("data-secret"))t=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t);if(r||a)(t=e.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),e.parentNode.replaceChild(t,e)}}}}(window,document); //--><!]]> </script><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://dearpandemic.org/new-names-for-variants/embed/" width="600" height="338" title="“WHO announces new names for SARS-CoV-2 variants” — Dear Pandemic" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe>Let’s face it: B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 don’t easily roll off the tongue. While naming variants after the place they were first identified is common in virology, during the pandemic there has been concern about stigmatizing particular countries when using these names in public discussions. The WHO has adopted a new Greek alphabet naming system to ...https://dearpandemic.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/New-variant-names.png21602160