The WHO appears to have skipped over the Greek letter 'Xi' when naming the 'Omicron' variant

There’s been a little bit of confusion regarding the new variant of concern as designated by the World Health Organization. Contrary to reports earlier today, this variant is named “Omicron” and not “Nu”:

The @WHO has named B.1.1.529 Omicron, a Variant of Concern [O, not Nu)

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) November 26, 2021

What makes this funny is that the WHO appears to have skipped over the letter “Xi” when they moved from “Nu” to “Omicron”:

News of new Nu variant, but WHO is jumping the alphabet to call it Omicron, so they can avoid Xi. pic.twitter.com/UJ4xMwg52i

— Martin Kulldorff (@MartinKulldorff) November 26, 2021

“Can’t make this stuff up”:

So the WHO is skipping from Nu variant to Omicron variant… maybe because the Greek letter in between is Xi?! Hahahah. Can’t make this stuff up.

— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) November 26, 2021

What cowards:

The WHO chose Omicron over Nu for the variant of concern, probably because it sounds too much like "new." But the next letter is not Omicron but Xi. Was that a little too on the nose?

— Jared Walczak (@JaredWalczak) November 26, 2021

Now, as everyone is panicking over Omicron, here’s why we shouldn’t be panicking over Omicron:

Minister of Health of South Africa: There is NO EVIDENCE that the Nu variant evades our current vaccines. https://t.co/SrgQFR5EyR

— Chise 🧬🧫🦠💉🔜 MFF (@sailorrooscout) November 26, 2021

***

Related:

These aged well! Pair of Biden tweets get fresh attention after admin implements travel restrictions over new Covid variant https://t.co/SYo4hhXr0l

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) November 26, 2021