OED updates show how the pandemic has influenced our vocabulary

Medical terms once confined to specialized circles have now entered common parlance thanks to Covid-19, and the latest update from the Oxford English Dictionary shows just that. Although "Covid-19" was included in the April edition of the OED, "corona" made its first appearance in the July edition. The OED this month also updated its entry for "dexamethasone" after recent evidence suggested that the inexpensive steroid could benefit some Covid-19 patients. Also in the latest update is "Kawasaki," after research showed that some children with Covid-19 developed conditions similar to the autoimmune disease known as Kawasaki syndrome. "Contact tracer" was also published for the first time this month, as was another verb form of "Zoom," to indicate talking to someone on the internet using the Zoom application.