A call for simpler naming
of COVID-19 variants

My creative way to address inconsistent virus nomenclature

By Byron Toben

The virus COVID-19 is itself a more pronounceable name of SARS-CoV-2. In recent months, there have been several variants giving rise to the likelihood of dozens more yet to come. As each one has an alphanumeric name, it becomes confusing to distinguish one from the other, so I consulted Wikipedia.

I summarize the nomenclature issues below, but first a general background of life vs. non-life.

Virus vs. bacteria, fungi, protozoa, etc.

Size
Viruses are incredibly small. The largest virus is smaller than the smallest bacteria.

Replication
Viruses cannot replicate themselves unless they enter a bodily cell and use or “steal” its proteins within the cell before bursting out. Bacteria can replicate themselves as they carry their own genetic material.

For these reasons, viruses are considered non-life and bacteria, however primitive, as a form of life. Famously, anti-bacterial compounds (penicillin, etc.) do not affect viruses.

To me (law background) this seems largely a definitional distinction. The virus’s capacity to mutate or differentiate seems equivalent to the process of evolution that defines life form change.

So much for these metaphysical aspects, now back to SARS and its progeny.

Nomenclature of the variants

Virus – Image: Robert Couse-Baker via StockPholio.net

There is no consistent nomenclature. In January 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced it is working on a standard. It eschews using geographical sites of actual or mistaken origin in naming (hence no more Spanish Flu, Ebola, Nile, etc.)

Although there are thousands of variants, there are three larger groupings, by lineage or by clades (common ancestry). To me, lineage or common ancestors sounds similar but that is how things are now organized.

In 2017, NEXTSTRAIN identified 11 major clades.

In 2020, PANGOLIN proposed a method of naming active virus lineages and their spread to new locations.

In January 2021, GISAID identified eight global clades.

My call for easy to remember “brand” names

Here is a quickie list of variants discovered in 2020, in chronological order and different names under different systems

PANGOLIN (lineage) ——————–NEXTSTRAIN (clade)—————–OTHER

U.K. Jan.:   B. 1.1.7………………………….201/501Y.V1………………………………….–
Nigeria March:   B.1.1.207………………..–…………………………………………………..–
USA June:   B.1.429…………………………20C/S.452R…………………………………..CAL.20C
Denmark Sept.:   –……………………………–………………………………………………….Cluster5
South Africa Oct.:   B.1.361………………20H/501Y.V2………………………………..501Y.V2
Japan/Brazil Dec.:   P.1……………………..20J/501Y.V3…………………………………B.1.1.28.1
U.K./Nigeria Dec:   B.525…………………200(F)…………………………………………..–

Also, these eight have each lengthy “notable variations.” Some also have other “mutations.”

There are reasons to keep complicated alphanumeric names for academic tracking. However, I propose common names for the most prevalent versions. I welcome input from others, but to start the conversation, I suggest types of baseball pitches: Slider-13, Curveball-6, ChangeUp-8, Screwball-9, Fastball-12, etc.

Let’s bat these viruses out of our park!

Feature image: Peter via StockPholio.net

More articles from Byron Toben

Byron Toben, a past president of The Montreal Press Club, has been WestmountMag.ca’s theatre reviewer since July 2015. Previously, he wrote for since terminated web sites Rover Arts and Charlebois Post, print weekly The Downtowner and print monthly The Senior Times. He also is an expert consultant on U.S. work permits for Canadians.