Origins of COVID-19 still unclear according to final report from WHO expert group
The World Health Organization recently released the final report from an expert group tasked with investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the report did not provide a definitive answer to how the virus started, leaving scientists still uncertain about the exact source of the worst health emergency in recent history.
According to Marietjie Venter, the chair of the expert group, most scientific data supports the theory that the new coronavirus originated in animals and then jumped to humans. This conclusion aligns with the findings of a previous WHO investigation in 2021, which suggested that the virus likely spread from bats to humans through an intermediary animal. At that time, the possibility of a lab leak was deemed “extremely unlikely.”
Despite more than three years of research, the expert group was unable to gather enough data to determine whether COVID-19 could have resulted from a laboratory accident. Requests for genetic sequences and detailed biosecurity information from the Chinese government went unanswered, preventing a thorough investigation into this hypothesis.
As a result, the group could not reach a consensus on the origins of the virus, leading to the resignation of one member and the removal of three others from the report. There was no evidence to support the idea that COVID-19 was manipulated in a lab, nor any indication that the virus was spreading before December 2019 outside of China.
Until more scientific data becomes available, the exact origins of the virus will remain inconclusive. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized the importance of determining how COVID-19 began, highlighting the devastating impact of the pandemic on global health and the economy.
The search for the virus’s origins has been challenging, with reports suggesting that early efforts to trace the virus were hindered by the Chinese government. US President Donald Trump has accused China of a laboratory accident as the cause of the pandemic, although intelligence analysis found insufficient evidence to support this claim.
Chinese officials have consistently denied allegations of a lab origin, calling for investigations to be conducted in other countries. Researchers have identified several animal species, including raccoon dogs, civet cats, and bamboo rats, as potential sources of the virus transmission to humans.
The quest to uncover the true origins of COVID-19 continues, with the hope that further research will shed light on how the virus emerged and spread globally.
