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yesterday

WHO Investigation Into COVID-19 Origins Remains Inconclusive

Crucial genetic sequences alongside biosecurity records remain withheld, stalling any definitive conclusion on the pandemic’s origins.

A test tube labelled "COVID-19 Test Positive" and a vial labelled "VACCINE Coronavirus COVID-19" are seen in this illustration taken December 11, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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A man walks by a COVID-19 vaccination sign in Montreal on Dec. 23, 2021. According to an expert group charged by the World Health Organization to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic started, scientists still aren't completely sure of the origins.

Overview

  • WHO and its expert panel say repeated requests to China for genetic sequences, detailed lab records and foreign intelligence data went unanswered.
  • Dr. Marietjie Venter said that most published scientific evidence favors a zoonotic spillover from bats through an intermediary animal.
  • About 60 percent of early COVID-19 cases were linked to the Wuhan seafood market and no clusters appeared elsewhere before December 2019.
  • The lab leak hypothesis remains on the table because missing data prevent scientists from definitively excluding that possibility.
  • WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus warned that resolving the virus’ origin is essential to bolster global health security and improve pandemic preparedness.