Why WHO skipped 2 Greek letters to name new variant ‘Omicron’

Re:Why WHO skipped 2 Greek letters to name new variant ‘Omic... by _djo_ on Sunday November 28, 2021 @12:36PM (#29370909)

Why be that specific? The WHO’s guidelines already made it clear why some names may be skipped. Referring to Xi Jinping directly would be counter-productive to their goal of depoliticising the name.

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Re:Why WHO skipped 2 Greek letters to name new variant ‘Omic... by throwawaysea on Sunday November 28, 2021 @12:43PM (#29370972)

Are you really asking why we expect the WHO to be transparent and honest? Because they are an institution that has been given a lot of trust and power. Because their attempts to shape a narrative can harm important efforts like accountability for the virus’s origins and early reporting/containment (or lack thereof). Because people don’t like being lied to or propagandized by overt attempts to shape public opinion. Because an allegedly scientific institution should not play political games.

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Re:Why WHO skipped 2 Greek letters to name new variant ‘Omic... by xg15 on Sunday November 28, 2021 @05:44PM (#29373936)

They are pretty transparent. You can read their guidelines here: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/163636/WHO_...

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Re:Why WHO skipped 2 Greek letters to name new variant ‘Omic... by xg15 on Sunday November 28, 2021 @05:43PM (#29373926)

Read their guidelines. They are purposely excluding any people's names. They wouldn't call it Trump virus or Biden disease or John Doe variant either.

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