There are new names for the COVID-19 variants.
The World Health Organization is using the letters of the Greek alphabet to identify them.
The UK variant, first discovered last December, has been named Alpha.
Delta is the latest variant from India.
The WHO has identified four known variants of concern and six others referred to as variants of interest.
Variants of Concern
WHO label
Alpha – B.1.1.7 – United Kingdom -Dec. 2020
Beta – B.1.351 – South Africa – Dec. 2020
Gamma – P.1 – Brazil – Jan. 2021
Delta – B.1.617.2 – India – Apr. 2021
Variants of Interest
WHO label
Epsilon – B.1.427/B.1.429 – USA – Mar. 2021
Zeta – P.2 – Brazil – Mar. 2021
Eta – B.1.525 – Multiple countries – Mar. 2021
Theta – P.3 – Philippines – Mar. 2021
Iota – B.1.526 – USA – Mar. 2021
Kappa – B.1.617.1 – India – Apr. 2021
