Overview

• The WHO’s Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens published its final findings on June 27 after four years of investigation and found no definitive explanation for how SARS-CoV-2 entered human populations.
• Experts concluded that zoonotic spillover from bats, either directly or via an intermediate host, remains the hypothesis best supported by existing scientific data.
• The panel was unable to rule out a lab leak because China has not provided hundreds of early viral genome sequences, detailed records on animals sold at Wuhan markets or biosafety information from local laboratories.
• WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency also lacks access to intelligence reports held by other governments that could help clarify the virus’s origin.
• Tedros described determining COVID-19’s origin as a moral imperative to prevent future pandemics and renewed calls for China and other countries to share all relevant data openly.