Disease, denomination and de-stigmatisation: A content analysis of SARS-CoV-2 variant naming and re-naming in Australian news media

In May 2021, the World Health Organization announced a new naming system for SARS-CoV-2 variants intended to replace potentially stigmatising names referencing geographic locations. A quantitative content analysis was conducted to identify the names and frames present in Australian news media coverage before and after the new names were announced. Results demonstrate uptake of the new names but also indicate the potential for intended outcomes of de-stigmatisation to be compromised, particularly by persistent negative framing. These findings indicate that future health communication efforts might be strengthened by integrating disease naming considerations into ongoing public health preparedness efforts and support ongoing scholarly inquiry into naming and framing in news media communication.