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Why WHO skipped two letters of the Greek alphabet in naming Omicron
CNN
According to the Greek alphabet, the World Health Organization was expected to name the latest Covid-19 variant "Nu" or "Xi." But both names were seen as problematic.
Since May the World Health Organization has been using letters of the Greek alphabet, in order, to name coronavirus variants. Delta was the most dominant one, followed by eight others -- including Epsilon, Iota and Lambda -- that so far have mostly fizzled out.
So after a new variant with the unwieldy scientific name of B.1.1.529 was discovered last week in South Africa, observers might have expected the WHO to name it after the next Greek letter on the list: Nu.
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