What are all the new COVID-19 variants and how dangerous are they? Here’s everything you need to know.

What are all the new COVID-19 variants and how dangerous are they? Here’s everything you need to know.

Scientists don’t like to name variants after the places where they are first seen because that can penalize locations with better testing and research. Instead, they name the variants after the locations of genetic changes in the virus. “They’re still sorting out naming conventions,” said Daniel Parker, an assistant professor of public health at the University of California, Irvine. “It is a bit confusing for everyone right now.”