By ANALOU DE VERA
The new coronavirus that afflicted thousands of people has officially been named as “Covid-19,” the World Health Organization (WHO) announced.
“Under agreed guidelines between WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization, we had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people, and which is also pronounceable and related to the disease,” said WHO-Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a press briefing in Geneva, Switzerland which was broadcasted live on the official Twitter page of the organization.
Ghebreyesus said that “CO” stands for corona, “VI” stands for virus, and “D” for disease while “19” stands for the year 2019. To note, the new coronavirus was detected last December in the City of Wuhan in China’s Hubei province.
“Having a name matters to prevent the use of other names that can be inaccurate or stigmatizing. It also gives us a standard format to use for any future coronavirus outbreaks,” said Ghebreyesus.
The new strain of coronavirus was previously referred to as 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and 2019 novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV ARD).
VACCINE
The WHO official said that the development of a possible vaccine for the new coronavirus is now underway, saying that the vaccine might be available in 18 months.
“The development of vaccines and therapeutics is one important part of the research agenda – but it is only one part. They will take time to develop, but in the meantime, we are not defenceless. There are many basic public health interventions that are available to us now, and which can prevent infections now,” said Ghebreyesus.
“For instance the first vaccine could be ready in 18 months. So we have to do everything today using the available weapon to fight this virus. While preparing for the long term using the preparation for the vaccines,” he added.
Ghebreyesus, meanwhile reported that there were 42,708 confirmed Covid-19 cases reported in China, including 1,017 deaths, adding that most of the cases and the deaths were recorded in Wuhan City. Outside of China, there were 393 cases in 24 countries.
