Greek alphabet for Covid-19 variants to stave off racism

by Henry Buzar June 11, 2021 At the last day of May this year, Covid-19 variants were called using Greek Alphabet Letters instead with each...

by Henry Buzar
June 11, 2021








At the last day of May this year, Covid-19 variants were called using Greek Alphabet Letters instead with each one named for the nation in which it first surfaced such as B.1.1.7. Some people associated B for Britain or the UK or Ken variant which is not true since the UK denied that this particular variant originated in the UK. But the damage has already been done. Other strains use the same letter B as in B.1.351 originated from South Africa, P2 B.1.1.28 from Brazil, and others.

Starting from the past pandemics, viruses were called by the country’s name as their origin. The Spanish flu that killed an estimated 20 to 50 million was named Spanish flu because the Spanish media freely reported its gory detail while other major countries engaged in WW I suppressed the news within their shores where the virus also spreads. Other deadly viruses were also named from their country or place of origins such as Ebola virus (name of the river) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MERS virus or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, and Covid-19 or SARS-CoV-2 called by President Trump as “Kung flu” referring to Kung Fu of the Chinese origin. These country name-calling viruses smack of racism or a curse to the nation to which it was named.



In the same month last year, United Nations chief António Guterres spoke of the “tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scaremongering” that had been unleashed by the pandemic. “Anti-foreigner sentiment,” he added, “has surged online and in the streets. Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have spread, and Covid-19-related anti-Muslim attacks have occurred. Migrants and refugees have been vilified as a source of the virus.”

Attacks linked to variant naming have taken place. In May this year, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong took to social media to condemn a racist attack on a woman of Indian descent who was kicked and abused for not wearing a mask – permitted in Singapore while exercising, which the woman was at the time. Asian Americans, specifically Filipinos were also victims of this xenophobia in the US.



Public anxiety over the pandemic, wrote Lee, “does not justify racist attitudes and actions, much less physically abusing and assaulting someone because she belongs to a particular race.” The naming of the viruses as observed contributed much to racism around the globe.

Now, these variants are called by Greek alphabet letters to stave off the prejudices, scorn, and name-calling associated with these viruses. The UK variant is called the Alpha variant. That’s easy enough to remember. But with few in the modern world familiar with all 24 letters of the Greek alphabet, it remains to be seen whether Beta (the South Africa variant), Gamma (Brazil), Delta and Kappa (both India), Epsilon and Iota (the US) and Theta (the Philippines) will catch on.



Fraternities and sororities in the future may opt to change their greek alphabet organization names to avoid being associated with virus names.