NOTTV - Capitalization in the Time of Corona

[PGage]

Any opinions here as to the use of all caps for “COVID-19?” 

As anyone who has seen my posts here over the years would know, I am not exactly a stickler for spelling or capitalization, but I am having the need to use the term regularly in my formal chart notes at work, and would like to do what is proper.

The AP is going with all caps, see:

https://www.apstylebook.com/ask_the_editors/last_seven_days (scroll to bottom for last question).

But, contrary to what the AP answer person writes (and in agreement with the questioner) it does seem to me that increasingly it is being given title case treatment by most media outlets (see any NYT story on the virus and disease this week).

I am strongly in favor of all caps, as it is an acronym (or is it acronym-adjacent?). But then, I still prefer NASA and NATO and ESPN.

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[Kevin M.]

I vote for all caps, without the hyphen (space between optional) 

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Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Joe Hass]

The WHO says "COVID-19", and that's my usage.

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[Brad Beam]

From: tvor...@googlegroups.com [mailto:tvor...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Joe Hass

>The WHO says "COVID-19", and that's my usage.

 

In my Facebook postings, I go with the BBC (Covid-19).

 

_   _

|_>|_>  Brad Beam- Belle WV

|_>|_>  http://www.facebook.com/74bmw

[Joe Hass]

Actually, the more I think about it, the more that I would go with the BBC ruling personally, since I pronounce it as a word.

Look: I've had my usual three drinks tonight as part of my coping mechanism... leave me alone.

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[PGage]

Thanks for the input. I take from this, and the AP vs NYT/BBC disparity, that either usage is acceptable for now. It is a lot easier to just capitalize the first letter, so despite my delicate sensibility I may drift in that direction, but I plan to fight it. 

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[JW]

> Any opinions here as to the use of all caps for “COVID-19?”
> 

> The AP is going with all caps, see:

> https://www.apstylebook.com/ask_the_editors/last_seven_days (scroll to

> bottom for last question).

AP style is always defensible, and in this case, it's based on how organizations like CDC use it. Readers will still understand if it's not capitalized, but I'd go with the upper case.