Umm ...
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Coronavirus (CoV) II variant b.1.1.529 (Omicron) ... SARS-CoV-2 Omicron ... the literal, virus variant's name.
Coranavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is just the outbreak name, caused by all SARS-CoV-2 lineage. The original variant that infects humans is referred to as Human Wuhan #1 ([Hu]Wuhan-1).
There are all sorts of strains, including more deadly P.1 (Gamma) and C.37 (Lambda), but most of the ones that hit the west are B.1-series, which started with Alpha, Beta (less in the west), and now Delta and Omicron.
It's SARS, just the 2nd major regional-global outbreak. That's why we call it a SARS (and MERS)
'type' of Coronavirus.
The original SARS was SARS-CoV, and all its variants, now retroactively also called SARS-CoV-1, from 2002-2004. It remained regional
There was also Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Coronavirus (CoV), MERS-CoV. We actually used geography there because it's not racist ... unless it's Chinese, it seems.
Same with West Nile, Zika and others ... all named after places.
The Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) is an independent group of experts that periodically monitors and evaluates the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and assesses if specific mutations and combinations of mutations alter the behaviour of the virus. The TAG-VE was convened...
www.who.int
Here are other variants of concern (there are many more dozens than just these too), beyond Delta (which already has several subvariants) and Omicron, which have had
at least regional outbreaks.
- Alpha (B.1.1.7 and Q lineages)
- Beta (B.1.351 and descendent lineages)
- Gamma (P.1 and descendent lineages)
- Epsilon (B.1.427 and B.1.429)
- Eta (B.1.525)
- Iota (B.1.526)
- Kappa (B.1.617.1)
- no greek name (1.617.3)
- Mu (B.1.621, B.1.621.1)
- Zeta (P.2)