5 ms·

COVID-19 isn't a coronavirus, it's the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

ganstyles 6y ago
Giving you the benefit of the doubt, and assuming this isn't just pedantry, especially since you're getting downvotes (because I assume everyone thinks this is just pedantic correction) I looked it up. In the context of "trying to do research on coronaviruses" your comment appears to be not only correct but an important distinction, rather than the pedantry it appears to be. From Wikipedia: "...more lethal varieties [of coronaviruses] can cause SARS, MERS, and COVID-19." And... "Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2] is the strain of coronavirus..." I learned something today!
- ccheney 6y ago
  I also had this epiphany awhile back and what helped me understand the difference was to think about how HIV (the virus) causes AIDS (the disease).
- teamspirit 6y ago
  Further, CoViD-19 literally stands for: Co[rona] Vi[rus] D[isease] - [discovered in 20]19 - "D" standing for disease caused by this particular strain. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed when I found out, though I admit now it's a little refreshing to have be so simply named.
  - Theodores 6y ago
    Which can be further abbreviated as C19. I have seen this in personal chats and wonder how long it will be before it gets into newspaper headlines where space is at a premium in print editions.
    - Wistar 6y ago
      I already see it in publications but more frequently see the variant C-19.
- jkoudys 6y ago
  Complaining about pedantry is the new pedantry.
docbrown 6y ago
[retracted] and I hope this is just a misunderstanding. As the director of the World Health Organization (WHO) said, 2019-nCoV is a novel (new) coronavirus.[0] The CDC defines coronavirus as a virus that was not previously known — check the FAQ, “what is a novel coronavirus?”[0.5] They changed the name of this coronavirus to reflect the disease more accurately to COVID-19.[1] The CDC has a list of other coronavirus’ that have existed.[2] 0: https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1227297754499764230?s=20 https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1227297754499764230?s=20 0.5: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html 1: https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-2019-ncov-on-11-february-2020 https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-... 2: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/types.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/types.html —— Edit: Since there seems to be a misunderstanding from everybody’s part on this as it’s referred to as both and often interchangeably in a mainstream setting, take a look at John Hopkins guide: https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540747/all/Coronavirus_COVID_19__SARS_CoV_2_ https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX...
- okintheory 6y ago
  No, the comment above is correct, and your own links show this. From link [2]: "SARS-CoV-2 (the novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19)" The previous comment was just making the point that the (new) virus is called SARS-CoV-2 and the associated disease is called COVID-19.
- COVIDisntCORONA 6y ago
  Excuse the incivility, but no. COVID-19: disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 SARS-CoV-2: strain of SARS-CoV SARS-CoV: severe accute respiratory syndrome coronavirus Coronavirus: virus that causes respiratory diseases in mammals, such as SARS (SARS-CoV) MERS (MERS-CoV), and COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)
  - amelius 6y ago
    Kind of strange that the name of the virus contains the symptoms of the disease (SARS = severe accute respiratory syndrome) while the disease doesn't.
acituan 6y ago
I know you are relaying the public information accurately, but I wish authorities pushed better names. Like calling the virus "the virus that we know has a corona and causes these symptoms" and the disease "the disease caused by this virus that has a corona and that causes these symptoms" is circular. Also, it is not true that it is entirely a respiratory syndrome. There are serious non-respiratory symptoms, extent of which we are to discover. Finally, if it is a syndrome causing virus, by definition we wouldn't have the crisp boundaries of a disease around it, which indeed we don't. If these were names for services and classes that came in a code review, how many would really approve?
pwdisswordfish2 6y ago
American media calls both disease and virus "corona". They seem to care little about such details.
- perl4ever 6y ago
  I've been using "covid". Don't know if it will catch on, but I feel it's important for efficiency's sake to try to save one letter.

Giving you the benefit of the doubt, and assuming this isn't just pedantry, especially since you're getting downvotes (because I assume everyone thinks this is just pedantic correction) I looked it up. In the context of "trying to do research on coronaviruses" your comment appears to be not only correct but an important distinction, rather than the pedantry it appears to be. From Wikipedia: "...more lethal varieties [of coronaviruses] can cause SARS, MERS, and COVID-19." And... "Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2] is the strain of coronavirus..." I learned something today!

ccheney 6y ago
I also had this epiphany awhile back and what helped me understand the difference was to think about how HIV (the virus) causes AIDS (the disease).
teamspirit 6y ago
Further, CoViD-19 literally stands for: Co[rona] Vi[rus] D[isease] - [discovered in 20]19 - "D" standing for disease caused by this particular strain. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed when I found out, though I admit now it's a little refreshing to have be so simply named.
- Theodores 6y ago
  Which can be further abbreviated as C19. I have seen this in personal chats and wonder how long it will be before it gets into newspaper headlines where space is at a premium in print editions.
  - Wistar 6y ago
    I already see it in publications but more frequently see the variant C-19.
jkoudys 6y ago
Complaining about pedantry is the new pedantry.

docbrown 6y ago

[retracted] and I hope this is just a misunderstanding. As the director of the World Health Organization (WHO) said, 2019-nCoV is a novel (new) coronavirus.[0] The CDC defines coronavirus as a virus that was not previously known — check the FAQ, “what is a novel coronavirus?”[0.5] They changed the name of this coronavirus to reflect the disease more accurately to COVID-19.[1] The CDC has a list of other coronavirus’ that have existed.[2] 0: https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1227297754499764230?s=20 https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1227297754499764230?s=20 0.5: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html 1: https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-2019-ncov-on-11-february-2020 https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-... 2: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/types.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/types.html —— Edit: Since there seems to be a misunderstanding from everybody’s part on this as it’s referred to as both and often interchangeably in a mainstream setting, take a look at John Hopkins guide: https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540747/all/Coronavirus_COVID_19__SARS_CoV_2_ https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX...

okintheory 6y ago
No, the comment above is correct, and your own links show this. From link [2]: "SARS-CoV-2 (the novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19)" The previous comment was just making the point that the (new) virus is called SARS-CoV-2 and the associated disease is called COVID-19.
COVIDisntCORONA 6y ago
Excuse the incivility, but no. COVID-19: disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 SARS-CoV-2: strain of SARS-CoV SARS-CoV: severe accute respiratory syndrome coronavirus Coronavirus: virus that causes respiratory diseases in mammals, such as SARS (SARS-CoV) MERS (MERS-CoV), and COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)
- amelius 6y ago
  Kind of strange that the name of the virus contains the symptoms of the disease (SARS = severe accute respiratory syndrome) while the disease doesn't.

acituan 6y ago

I know you are relaying the public information accurately, but I wish authorities pushed better names. Like calling the virus "the virus that we know has a corona and causes these symptoms" and the disease "the disease caused by this virus that has a corona and that causes these symptoms" is circular. Also, it is not true that it is entirely a respiratory syndrome. There are serious non-respiratory symptoms, extent of which we are to discover. Finally, if it is a syndrome causing virus, by definition we wouldn't have the crisp boundaries of a disease around it, which indeed we don't. If these were names for services and classes that came in a code review, how many would really approve?

pwdisswordfish2 6y ago

American media calls both disease and virus "corona". They seem to care little about such details.

perl4ever 6y ago
I've been using "covid". Don't know if it will catch on, but I feel it's important for efficiency's sake to try to save one letter.