It was first proposed in early April 2020 and a scientific paper describing the system was published in July 2020 (freely available here).

The Pango nomenclature is being used by researchers and public health agencies worldwide to track the transmission and spread of SARS-CoV-2, including variants of concern. You may have come across Pango lineage names such as B.1.1.7 and P.1 in the news.

This website is the home of the Pango Committees and the lineage naming rules.