Month: November 2023
Covid Semantics
National Public Radio recently reminded me that there are several ways we now talk about SARS-COVID-19, one of the world’s most deadly viruses. We refer to it as the “just past” or passed Covid pandemic. Or we say “pre Covid, ” “recent Covid” or “past pandemic” or “recent pandemic.” And, we generally now spell the name in lower case letters, no longer capitals. That has happened over time to a lot of words such as flu, measles, chicken pox. One writer wrote it as “covidvirus.” Another wrote “coronavirus.” Well, according to the Chicago Style Manual they are probably all correct. A majority of publications prefer to use the first letter (Cap) and then lower case – thus Covid.
While writing my book Destiny’s Daughter I discovered something similar with the word “suffragist.” It is considered an old word in the US dating back to the 1800s. We now call a person doing similar activities as seeking some kind of vote – an “advocate” or advocating. Although one writer says we should call them “suffragettes” to distinguish a time difference. (A good gift book.)
However, in other parts of the world the word suffragist continues to be used, such as in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, which by the way, was the first country where women did get the vote.
So what about Covid? What all has it been called? I just saw an announcement from WHO that another new variant or mutation is out called “Kraken” (XBB.1.5). It is the most contagious Covid variant yet they say. Since 2019 we have seen a number of prominent variants including Alpha, Beta, Delta, Omicron, which endured two years. Then Eris (EG-5) plus another called Pirola. These names are composed from the Greek alphabet. And, excuse me if I have left out one.
So what does all this mean? To me it meant getting the updated Covid shot. And I urge you to do the same. Because even if the name does begin diminishing like flu or measles, I‘ll bet the virus doesn’t.
fealtman 