Variants of COVID-19 - think the highly transmissible Delta strain and the new Lambda mutation - could soon be named after star constellations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is considering naming future variants of the virus after the star configurations - think the Zodiac signs Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces - once the letters of the Greek alphabet have been exhausted.
The suggestion has been made as a contingency amid fears that more and more variants of COVID-19 will continue to emerge, running through the 24 letters available.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's COVID-19 technical lead, confirmed to the Telegraph the agency is considering naming new strains after star constellations, such as Orion, Leo, Aries and Gemini.
According to NASA, there are currently 88 officially recognised constellations.
"We will possibly run out of the Greek alphabet, but we're already looking at the next series of names," Dr Van Kerkhove told the Telegraph.
"We're actually considering star constellations. We were going to go with Greek gods or goddesses, and I said, 'please, please don't make me say that publicly'."
Dr Van Kerkhobe added it's "possible" future variants could pose a "real threat" by evading the protection of vaccines.
She said its critical countries do not solely rely on vaccination to reduce rates of COVID-19, but continue to use a series of measures to drive down transmission. New Zealand has maintained a number of measures, such as mandatory masks on public transport and compulsory managed isolation for new arrivals before they are able to enter the community.
From countries, to Greek letters, to constellations
Variants of COVID-19 were initially named after their country of origin - for example, the Delta variant was formerly known as the 'India variant' as it was first identified in the south Asian nation. However, this was scrapped in May due to concerns the titles were fuelling racism against affected countries.
Dr Van Kerkhove, who had previously expressed unease over referring to variants by their country of origin due to the associated stigma, made the request for an official naming system last year.
The WHO subsequently began naming new mutations of the virus after letters of the Greek alphabet.
Four variants of the virus have been classified as 'variants of concern' by the WHO so far - the Alpha (formerly the UK variant); the Beta (formerly the South Africa variant); the Gamma (formerly the Brazil variant); and the Delta (formerly the India variant).
Four others have been classified as 'variants of interest' - the Eta (first detected in multiple countries from December 2020); the Iota (first detected in the US in November 2020); the Kappa (first detected in India in October 2020); and the Lambda (first documented in Peru in December 2020).
The WHO is considering the constellation proposal and will ensure any future naming system does not fuel discrimination or stigmatisation, Dr Van Kerkhove told the newspaper.
