“China virus,” the Chinese virus—at the start of the 2020 pandemic, this epithet was often encountered in the media. The use of geographically based labels to define the disease (COVID-19) and the virus causing it (SARS-CoV-2) had significant consequences on public opinion, fueling and amplifying—sometimes with very serious outcomes—prejudices against specific people and countries, accused of having a causal role in spreading the contagion.
Geographic bias in virus naming: Lessons from coronavirus show it’s better to act early
