WHO: COVID origins unclear, lab leak theory needs study
LONDON — An expert group drafted by the World Health Organization to help investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic says further research is needed to determine how COVID-19 first began, including a more detailed analysis of the possibility it was a laboratory accident.
That stance marks a sharp reversal of the U.N. health agency’s initial assessment of the pandemic’s origins. WHO concluded last year that it was “extremely unlikely” COVID-19 might have spilled into humans from a lab. Many scientists suspect the coronavirus jumped into people from bats, possibly via another animal.
In a report released Thursday, WHO’S expert group said “key pieces of data” to explain how the pandemic began were still missing. The scientists said the group would “remain open to any and all scientific evidence that becomes available in the future to allow for comprehensive testing of all reasonable hypotheses.”
Identifying a disease’s source in animals typically takes years; it took about 15 years for scientists to find the species of bats that were the natural reservoir for SARS, a relative of COVID-19.
WHO’S expert group also noted that since lab accidents in the past have triggered some outbreaks, the highly politicized theory could not be discounted.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speculated repeatedly that COVID-19 was started in a Chinese lab. He also accused WHO of “colluding” with China to cover up the initial outbreak, citing the U.N. health agency’s continued public praise of the country.
WHO’S expert group said WHO Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sent two letters to senior Chinese government officials in February requesting information, including details about the earliest human cases of COVID-19 in the city of Wuhan; it’s unclear whether the Chinese responded.
The experts said no studies were provided to WHO that assessed the possibility of COVID-19 resulting from a laboratory leak. They said their understanding of how the coronavirus emerged was limited by several factors, including that not all research presented by Chinese scientists has been published.
Jamie Metzl, who sits on an unrelated WHO advisory group, has suggested that the Group of Seven industrialized nations set up their own COVID origins probe, saying WHO lacks the political authority, scientific expertise and independence to conduct such a critical evaluation.
Metzl welcomed WHO’S call for a further investigation of the lab leak possibility but said it was insufficient.
“Tragically, the Chinese government is still refusing to share essential raw data and will not allow the necessary, full audit of the Wuhan labs,” he said. “Gaining access to this information is critical to both understanding how this pandemic began and preventing future pandemics.”
WHO’S expert scientists said numerous avenues of research were needed, including studies evaluating the role of wild animals, which are thought to be COVID-19’S natural reservoir, and environmental studies in places where the virus might have first spread, like the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan.