What should be the new Covid-19 variant named: Scientists debate.

Key sentence:

1.  There are a few Sars-Cov-2 virus variants that propagate more rapidly and are deadlier.
2. The fast-spreading UK variant being initially named Variant Under Investigation, either VIU for short, as per Nature. 
3. In one country, or nation it is spotted as well as spreads rapidly across the globe.
4. As per the Johns Hopkins University tacker, the international caseload of Covid-19 has surpassed 96 million.

The coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has spread around the world rapidly. So far, millions of people have been murdered as well as major economies have been seriously impacted.

Scientists are grappling with what to call the new variants:

There are a few Sars-Cov-2 virus variants that propagate more rapidly and are deadlier. Last year, one such variant was found in the United Kingdom.

Scientists are now dealing with what these variants should be called. Last week (January 12), a conference was held at the World Health Organization (WHO) where a proposed naming scheme was discussed, but there is still uncertainty.

The spreading UK variant was initially called Variant Under Investigation or VIU:

The fast-spreading UK variant being initially named Variant Under Investigation, either VIU for short, as per Nature. It was renamed Version of Concern or VOC after a risk evaluation.

If a variant is called after it, the main cause of concern is the stigma of a nation or territory. In news stories,’ UK version’,’ South African variant’ etc. are common, but scientists say certain things should be prevented.

An evolutionary biologist at the University of Oxford told:

Oliver Pybus, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Oxford, told Nature, “The very last thing we want to do is dissuade any specific spot from reporting that they have a new variant in question – in fact, we need to do the opposite.

As one of the scientists stated: 

It is not appropriate, say the scientists, for a variant named after a specific country to emerge from there. In one country, or nation it is spotted as well as spreads rapidly across the globe, they add.

This is why the naming pattern has been centred on evolutionary precedents, for the time being, leading to the label B117 for the form found in the United Kingdom and B1351 either 501Y.V2 for the one seen in South Africa.

In the meantime, as per the Johns Hopkins University tacker, the international caseload of Covid-19 has surpassed 96 million whereas the number of deaths has violated the 2 million mark.