The World Health Organization (WHO) has named B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2 of COVID-19 first identified in India as ‘kappa’ and ‘delta’ respectively.
*Its main purpose is to help people debate the VOCs and VOIs.
*It has been reported that this naming will not change existing scientific names.
*The Government of India has objected to referring to the P.1617 strain of the Corona virus novel as the “Indian variant”.
*It has also issued a suggestion to social media sites to remove all content that refers to P1.617.2 strain as ‘Indian variation’.
The WHO has recommended labeling of the Greek alphabet using the alpha, beta, and gamma characters, making it easier and more practical to discuss with non-scientific audiences.