Two years after the coronavirus was detected in China — during which the world has seen the deaths of at least 6.3 million people from the pandemic globally — Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the World Health Organization (WHO) is now recommending further investigations into whether or not the virus was leaked from a lab in China.
Reports say that WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has confided to a European politician that in his view, a catastrophic accident taking place at a lab in Wuhan, China, seems the most likely explanation for the COVID pandemic. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also said publicly that the WHO had been premature in ruling out the idea.
Addressing reporters at a press conference Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “As you know, I was a lab technician myself, an immunologist, and have worked in the lab. And lab accidents happen. It’s common.”
Critics who had previously accused the WHO of being too deferential to China are welcoming the change in stance. Gene therapy researcher Alina Chan, one of a group of 17 scientists who co-authored a letter arguing that the lab theory needed further assessment, said: “It’s a sign that the WHO might be able to do more credible or balanced investigation.” (Science)
According to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “We do not yet have the answers as to where it came from or how it entered the human population. Understanding the origins of the virus is very important scientifically to prevent future epidemics and pandemics. But morally, we also owe it to all those who have suffered and died and their families. The longer it takes, the harder it becomes. We need to speed up and act with a sense of urgency. All hypotheses must remain on the table until we have evidence that enables us to rule certain hypotheses in or out.” (Daily Mail)
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus put SAGO in place
Last year, the WHO established SAGO — the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens — to determine what studies were needed in order to trace the origins of SARS-CoV-2. China offered fierce resistance to the original probe into the outbreak, leading to the WHO issuing a report that concluded the virus was likely passed to humans from an unknown species that had been infected by bats. But after 14 nations, including the U.S., UK, and Australia, criticized the report’s findings as being highly compromised, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus put the new process in place.
Jamie Metzl, part of an unrelated WHO advisory committee, said the WHO lacks the expertise, independence, and political authority to carry forward a critical assessment. Metzl, however, appreciated Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ call for a deeper investigation into the roots of the pandemic. He said: “Tragically, the Chinese government is still refusing to share essential raw data and will not allow the necessary, full audit of the Wuhan labs. Gaining access to this information is critical to both understanding how this pandemic began and preventing future pandemics.”
The WHO’s expert scientists are of the view that many more studies are needed to find out the truth. They will keep looking at the possibility that the virus made a jump from an unknown species to humans. It has also been suggested by the Chinese that the virus was imported into the country in frozen food and this “cold chain” theory will continue to be investigated as well.
But without full access to the data and staff of the Wuhan lab, knowing the truth may not be possible. Scientists connected to the WHO earlier expressed worries that the possibility of finding the origin of the pandemic gets smaller with time. Already, more than two years have passed and any more delay will only make tracing the origin that much harder.
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