The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking to revive its stalled investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus through a new team of scientists, according to the Wall Street Journal. The United Nations agency is working on assembling a new group of experts specializing in laboratory safety, biological security, genetics, and veterinary science to examine the origins of the pandemic that has claimed the lives of over 4.7 million people.
Among the possibilities that the new team has been tasked with examining is whether the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 leaked from a laboratory, a hypothesis that has particularly angered China. This new effort follows months after a previous investigation overseen by the WHO, during which a specialized team of scientists visited Wuhan, China, where the initial outbreak cases were reported in late 2020.
A WHO spokesperson stated that "the priority of the new team should be data and access to the country identified in the early reports." The Chinese government has refused to disclose whether it will allow a new team into the country, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that China "fully cooperated" with the previous investigation.
In the final report of the previous investigation, the team noted that the data provided by Chinese scientists during the mission was insufficient to answer critical questions regarding when, where, and how the virus began spreading. The previous team of scientists concluded that it was "extremely unlikely" the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology laboratory. However, the WHO's director-general stated that this hypothesis requires further scrutiny.
Washington and its allies are urging the WHO to proceed with the investigation following a U.S. intelligence report submitted to President Joe Biden in August, which did not reach any final conclusions, partially due to a lack of data from Beijing. According to the American newspaper, Biden administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have publicly and privately pressed WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to renew the investigation, which is likely to include at least one American scientist on the team assigned to this task.
In contrast, China is resisting any investigation into the origins of the pandemic that began spreading on its territory, arguing that any new investigation should focus on other countries, including the United States. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is seeking a second term in his position, and U.S. support is seen as crucial for continuing within the organization.
The new efforts by the WHO to investigate the origins of the pandemic come as the organization increasingly aligns with some of Washington's key priorities after the Biden administration reversed former President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from it.
