Editorial: Revised World Health Organization (WHO) Terminology for Variants of Concern and Variants of Interest of SARS-CoV-2.

ABSTRACT

The global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has identified thousands of genome sequences of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On 31st May 2021, the Virus Evolution Working Group of the World Health Organization (WHO) announced its recommendations for revised naming of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) and variants of interest (VOIs). This new nomenclature system may improve infection monitoring, infection control, and sharing of research data on viral genomics and epidemiology. This Editorial aims to present an update on the current revised WHO terminology for the genomic VOCs and VOIs of SARS-CoV-2.