In a joint statement by several countries, Canada, the U.S and a dozen others expressed concerns Tuesday over a World Health Organization (WHO) report on the origins of COVID-19..In January and February, the team spent four weeks in Wuhan, China, and the surrounding area, releasing its final report to the public Tuesday..“Together, we support a transparent and independent analysis and evaluation, free from interference and undue influence, of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement read..The joint statement expressed their concerns while also reinforcing the importance of collaboration on developing and using a “swift, effective, transparent, science-based, and independent process for international evaluations of such outbreaks of unknown origin in the future.”.Earlier Tuesday, over 20 leaders and global agencies called for greater pandemic preparedness through an international treaty, though they gave few details on how to compel cooperation between countries..While praising WHO’s mission, the team urged additional expert-driven studies of animals to determine how COVID-19 came into contact with humans..“As far as WHO is concerned, all hypotheses remain on the table,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus..“This report is a very important beginning, but it is not the end. We have not yet found the source of the virus, and we must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned as we do,” he said..“Finding the origin of a virus takes time, and we owe it to the world to find the source so we can collectively take steps to reduce the risk of this happening again. No single research trip can provide all the answers.”.Despite ongoing uncertainty, experts indicated the virus was likely transmitted from bats to humans through another animal. Still, incomplete knowledge continues to inflame tensions over how the pandemic started..Two other possibilities were also considered, including direct spread from bats to humans — the more likely of the two — and potential reach through cold-chain food products..Some, including the U.S., have also put China under the microscope, going as far as accusing them of hindering efforts to ascertain the pandemic’s origins..Ghebreyesus mentioned experts had some difficulty accessing raw data while in China..Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration members actively promoted a lab leak theory, though they have not provided specific evidence to support their supposition..The Biden-Harris Administration said in a statement that additional steps were needed to determine COVID-19’s origins..“There’s a second stage in this process that we believe should be led by international and independent experts. They should have unfettered access to data,” said the White House..They said experts should ask questions of people who are on the ground, asking WHO to take this stance at this point..WHO mission expert Dominic Dwyer said Tuesday there was “no obvious evidence” Wuhan-area labs were involved in the initial outbreak, as the three laboratories in Wuhan working with COVID-19 were “well-managed”..The report said they operated under “high-quality” biosafety levels with no news of respiratory illness among staff before March 2020..Ghebreyesus also said the team concluded a laboratory leak was the least likely hypothesis and required further investigation. He was open to deploying additional missions involving specialist experts to determine its validity..“We will keep you informed as plans progress, and as always, we very much welcome your input,” he said..The four-week mission leader and WHO member, Peter Ben Embarek, attested to those concerns, admitting there was difficulty accessing the raw data..He said it was “perfectly possible” COVID-19 cases circulated in November or October 2019 around Wuhan, leading to outbreaks abroad earlier than was documented..Dhaliwal is a Western Standard reporter based in Edmonton
In a joint statement by several countries, Canada, the U.S and a dozen others expressed concerns Tuesday over a World Health Organization (WHO) report on the origins of COVID-19..In January and February, the team spent four weeks in Wuhan, China, and the surrounding area, releasing its final report to the public Tuesday..“Together, we support a transparent and independent analysis and evaluation, free from interference and undue influence, of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement read..The joint statement expressed their concerns while also reinforcing the importance of collaboration on developing and using a “swift, effective, transparent, science-based, and independent process for international evaluations of such outbreaks of unknown origin in the future.”.Earlier Tuesday, over 20 leaders and global agencies called for greater pandemic preparedness through an international treaty, though they gave few details on how to compel cooperation between countries..While praising WHO’s mission, the team urged additional expert-driven studies of animals to determine how COVID-19 came into contact with humans..“As far as WHO is concerned, all hypotheses remain on the table,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus..“This report is a very important beginning, but it is not the end. We have not yet found the source of the virus, and we must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned as we do,” he said..“Finding the origin of a virus takes time, and we owe it to the world to find the source so we can collectively take steps to reduce the risk of this happening again. No single research trip can provide all the answers.”.Despite ongoing uncertainty, experts indicated the virus was likely transmitted from bats to humans through another animal. Still, incomplete knowledge continues to inflame tensions over how the pandemic started..Two other possibilities were also considered, including direct spread from bats to humans — the more likely of the two — and potential reach through cold-chain food products..Some, including the U.S., have also put China under the microscope, going as far as accusing them of hindering efforts to ascertain the pandemic’s origins..Ghebreyesus mentioned experts had some difficulty accessing raw data while in China..Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration members actively promoted a lab leak theory, though they have not provided specific evidence to support their supposition..The Biden-Harris Administration said in a statement that additional steps were needed to determine COVID-19’s origins..“There’s a second stage in this process that we believe should be led by international and independent experts. They should have unfettered access to data,” said the White House..They said experts should ask questions of people who are on the ground, asking WHO to take this stance at this point..WHO mission expert Dominic Dwyer said Tuesday there was “no obvious evidence” Wuhan-area labs were involved in the initial outbreak, as the three laboratories in Wuhan working with COVID-19 were “well-managed”..The report said they operated under “high-quality” biosafety levels with no news of respiratory illness among staff before March 2020..Ghebreyesus also said the team concluded a laboratory leak was the least likely hypothesis and required further investigation. He was open to deploying additional missions involving specialist experts to determine its validity..“We will keep you informed as plans progress, and as always, we very much welcome your input,” he said..The four-week mission leader and WHO member, Peter Ben Embarek, attested to those concerns, admitting there was difficulty accessing the raw data..He said it was “perfectly possible” COVID-19 cases circulated in November or October 2019 around Wuhan, leading to outbreaks abroad earlier than was documented..Dhaliwal is a Western Standard reporter based in Edmonton
