Two COVID-19 variants found in India have been named as ‘Kappa’ and ‘Delta’. 

While the B.1.617.1 variant has been named as ‘Kappa’, the B.1.617.2 variant has been named as ‘Delta’. 

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The names of the two variants were announced by the World Health Organization (WHO). Both the variants were first found in India. 

“Today, @WHO announces new, easy-to-say labels for #SARSCoV2 Variants of Concern (VOCs) & Interest (VOIs). They will not replace existing scientific names, but are aimed to help in public discussion of VOI/VOC,” Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical COVID-19 lead, tweeted. 

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“Expert group convened by WHO has recommended using labelled using letters of the Greek Alphabet, i.e., Alpha, Beta, Gamma, which will be easier and more practical to discussed by non-scientific audiences,” WHO said in a statement.  

“The established nomenclature systems for naming and tracking SARS-CoV-2 genetic lineages by GISAID, Nextstrain and Pango are currently and will remain in use by scientists and in scientific research,” the statement added. 

WHO also said: “The naming system aims to prevent calling COVID-19 variants by the places where they are detected, which is stigmatizing and discriminatory.”

It added: “WHO encourages countries and others to adopt these names as they will ease public discussions about global COVID-19 Variants of Concern and Interest.”