In the quest to discover the origin of the coronavirus, the World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that its new advisory group on pathogens could be "our last chance" to uncover the origins of the pandemic. The organization urged China to cooperate by providing data on the first reported cases that emerged in the Asian country in late 2019. The initial human infections of "COVID-19" were recorded in Wuhan, central China, in December 2019. China has repeatedly denied theories suggesting that the virus leaked from one of its laboratories and stated that there is no need for further visits.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization announced the proposed names of 26 members for the scientific advisory group on the origins of new pathogens, including a Chinese veterinary health expert who participated in the joint investigation in Wuhan. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s senior technical expert on the "COVID-19" team, expressed hope for more international missions led by the organization to China, which would require its cooperation. She stated in a press conference that "more than 30 studies are recommended" to determine how the disease transitioned from animals to humans.
She also noted that Chinese tests reportedly conducted for antibodies among Wuhan residents in 2019 would be "extremely critical" to understanding the virus's origin. These efforts follow a Chinese announcement about conducting tests on blood samples from tens of thousands of Wuhan residents dating back to late 2019. Health experts believe that if the samples were properly preserved, they could contain "crucial markers of the first antibodies produced by humans against the disease."
