Nature said Nu was the likely choice as it is the next available letter in the Greek alphabet. The Greek naming system for COVID variants of interest and concern was introduced by the WHO on May ...

The WHO has followed the Greek alphabet when labeling certain variants of the coronavirus. But the newest variant is named omicron, skipping two letters.

In doing so, the WHO decided to skip over two letters in the Greek alphabet: nu and xi. The reasons for doing this remained a bit of a mystery until the WHO itself clarified the issue on Saturday.

According to the Greek alphabet, the World Health Organization was expected to name the latest Covid-19 variant “Nu” or “Xi.” But both names were seen as problematic.

The WHO has followed the Greek alphabet when labeling certain variants of the coronavirus. But the newest variant is named omicron, skipping two letters.

The WHO has followed the Greek alphabet when labeling certain variants of the coronavirus. But the newest variant is named omicron, skipping two letters.

The WHO has followed the Greek alphabet when labeling certain variants of the coronavirus. But the newest variant is named omicron, skipping two letters.

Instead, the WHO skipped over nu as well as xi, the next Greek letter in line — a move that many users on social media pointed out, while some questioned whether it was to avoid offending ...

The WHO has followed the Greek alphabet when labeling certain variants of the coronavirus. But the newest variant is named omicron, skipping two letters.

The WHO has followed the Greek alphabet when labeling certain variants of the coronavirus. But the newest variant is named omicron, skipping two letters.

The WHO has followed the Greek alphabet when labeling certain variants of the coronavirus. But the newest variant is named omicron, skipping two letters.