WHO accused of politics for naming latest variant ‘omicron’ instead of ‘xi’
By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times - Saturday, November 27, 2021
The World Health Organization was accused of pandering to China after announcing Friday that the latest COVID-19 variant has been named “omicron” after the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet, skipping the letters “nu” and “xi.”
The English spelling of the Chinese president’s name is Xi Jinping, and while his name and the 14th Greek letter are pronounced differently, the similarities on paper were close enough to draw a fresh round of rebukes over WHO’s alleged catering to China over the virus first detected in Wuhan.
George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley said that the “concern is that W.H.O. is again avoiding any discomfort for the Chinese government.”
“It is not clear if there is another reason for the decision to skip over Nu and Xi, but W.H.O.‘s history with the investigation into the origins of the pandemic has fueled speculation as to a political motive,” tweeted Mr. Turley.
Among those taking swipes at the organization for bypassing the Greek letter xi were frequent WHO critics Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican and Donald Trump Jr.
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