The WHO has named the latest variant of the Covid-19 virus “omicron”, saying it has become a variant of concern since it was first identified in South Africa on 9 November and that it poses a “very ...

Public health officials in recent days have raised alarms over a new variant of the coronavirus that could fuel a global surge of COVID-19 cases with "severe consequences," the World Health ...

Anagrams aside, the new coronavirus variant’s name follows an established pattern of naming variants after letters in the Greek alphabet. Pedestrians wearing face masks against the coronavirus walk ...

When the World Health Organization (WHO) gave the new B.1.1.529 variant its Greek name, those familiar with the ancient alphabet noticed something: omicron wasn’t next in line. Nu and xi come before ...

Social media users correctly noted, however, that the organization skipped two letters in doing so, leading to questions about the move. Here's what we know about how omicron ended up with its name.

WHEN THE World Health Organisation (WHO) decided in May 2021 to use the Greek alphabet to name “variants of concern” of SARS-CoV-2, it did so for reasons of simplicity. The first was Alpha, the second ...

Social media users correctly noted, however, that the organization skipped two letters in doing so, leading to questions about the move. Here's what we know about how omicron ended up with its name.