Key takeaways:
COVID-19 is short for “coronavirus disease of 2019.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) named the virus that causes COVID-19 “severe acute respiratory syndrome 2,” or SARS-CoV-2.
This virus that causes COVID-19 is called a “novel coronavirus” because it had never been seen before 2019.
“COVID” is a well-known term these days, since we’ve been hearing about COVID-19 for several years now. COVID-19 is the contagious infectious disease that has affected millions of people around the world. But do you ever wonder where the name “COVID-19” came from? Let’s take a look.
What does COVID-19 stand for in its full form?
COVID-19 is the name of the disease caused by the SARS-CoV2 virus. Viruses and the diseases they cause have different names. For example, AIDS is the disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
COVID-19 is an acronym. In its full form, COVID-19 stands for COronaVIrus Disease of 2019.
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Who named COVID-19?
In a press conference on Feb. 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) gave the coronavirus disease of 2019 the abbreviated name of COVID-19.
Why is it called COVID-19?
Experts found that the initial cluster of cases in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 were caused by a new coronavirus. This virus was first given the name “2019 novel coronavirus” (2019-nCoV).
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) renamed the virus “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2,” or SARS-CoV-2, on Feb. 11, 2020. They chose this name because the virus is a genetic cousin of the coronavirus that caused the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2002 (SARS-CoV).
On the same day, the WHO announced the name of the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 as COVID-19. This was based on guidelines agreed upon by the WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. They chose this name and abbreviation because they didn’t refer to a specific geographic location, animal, or group of people. They also wanted a name that was easy to pronounce and related to the disease.
According to the WHO, diseases are named “to enable discussion on disease prevention, spread, transmissibility, severity, and treatment.” After a disease is named, it’s officially listed in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
What is a coronavirus?
Coronaviruses are common respiratory viruses that affect animals and humans. The name “coronavirus” comes from the crown-like spikes on the surface of the virus. Illness caused by a coronavirus was first discovered in domestic poultry in the 1930s. In animals, coronaviruses cause a range of respiratory, gastrointestinal, liver, and neurologic diseases.
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Only seven coronaviruses are known to cause disease in humans:
Four human coronaviruses cause symptoms of the “common cold”: 229E, OC43, NL63, and HKU1.
Three human coronaviruses can cause much more serious infections: SARS-CoV in 2002, MERS-CoV in 2012, and SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that caused the most recent pandemic, COVID-19).
What is a novel coronavirus?
A “novel” coronavirus refers to a new coronavirus that hasn’t been previously identified in humans. This means it’s different from coronaviruses that cause the common cold and those that caused SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012.
Like SARS and MERS, the novel coronavirus is a zoonotic disease. A zoonotic disease refers to a disease that starts in animals and gets transmitted from animals to people.
Frequently asked questions
COVID is capitalized because it’s an acronym, or abbreviation formed from initial letters.
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) oversees the naming of viruses. Similar to WHO’s naming conventions, their goal is to avoid names that might cause error or confusion. So new names are often descriptive. The ICTV also discourages names that are the same as, or closely similar to, names already in use.
Not anytime soon. COVID is endemic, which means it will continue to circulate indefinitely. Researchers have found that the virus continues to evolve in ways that make it more likely to be able to infect others and to hide from antibodies.
COVID is capitalized because it’s an acronym, or abbreviation formed from initial letters.
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) oversees the naming of viruses. Similar to WHO’s naming conventions, their goal is to avoid names that might cause error or confusion. So new names are often descriptive. The ICTV also discourages names that are the same as, or closely similar to, names already in use.
Not anytime soon. COVID is endemic, which means it will continue to circulate indefinitely. Researchers have found that the virus continues to evolve in ways that make it more likely to be able to infect others and to hide from antibodies.
The bottom line
COVID-19 stands for “coronavirus disease of 2019.” The WHO chose the name “COVID-19” for its easy pronunciation and because it doesn’t refer to a particular country, animal, or group of people. The name of the virus that causes COVID-19 is SARS-CoV-2.
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References
Cohen, J. (2024). COVID’s cold cousins. Science.
Hayward, E. (2021). Predicting the future of COVID-19. Boston College News.
McIntosh, K. (1974). Coronaviruses: A comparative review. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology.
MedlinePlus. (2025). Coronavirus.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. (2024). Coronaviruses. National Institutes of Health.
ScienceDirect. (n.d.). Virus nomenclature.
Stein, R. (2024). Is COVID endemic yet? Yep, says the CDC. Here's what that means. National Public Radio.
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
World Health Organization. (n.d.). International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems (ICD).
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus that causes it.
