Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How Did Covid Start? WHO Report Will Say Animals Were The Source
AP: AP Exclusive: WHO Report Says Animals Likely Source Of COVID
A joint WHO-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely,” according to a draft copy obtained by The Associated Press. The findings were largely as expected and left many questions unanswered, but the report provided in-depth detail on the reasoning behind the team’s conclusions. The researchers proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis. (Moritsugu, 3/29)
CNN: Wildlife Trade Most Likely Pathway For Coronavirus To Arrive In Wuhan, WHO Expert Says
The wildlife trade in China is the most likely pathway through which Covid-19 was able to spread from the original animal source, possibly bats, to humans, according to one of the authors of a long-awaited World Health Organization report on the origin of the virus. The report, expected to be released on Tuesday after repeated delays, will include "multiple hundred pages, with lots of data, lots of new facts and information," said Peter Daszak, a member of the WHO team of international experts who visited the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged, earlier this year. (Sidhu and Gan, 3/29)
From the U.S. —
Axios: WHO Pandemic Origins Probe: Ex-NSC Official's Interference Concerns
The World Health Organization's probe into the COVID-19 pandemic origins is not an investigation, it's "essentially a highly chaperoned, highly curated study tour," a WHO adviser and former Clinton administration official told CBS' "60 Minutes" Sunday. Jamie Metzl's comments that China's government set the mission's ground rules and had "veto power" over who could be on the research team add to concerns raised by the Biden administration and others that the Chinese Communist Party may have interfered in the investigation. (3/28)
Politico: Trump CDC Chief: Coronavirus ‘Escaped’ From Chinese Lab
Robert Redfield, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said he believed the virus that causes Covid-19 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China — contradicting the assessment of the World Health Organization and most public health experts. In an interview with CNN’s Sanjay Gupta that aired Friday, the former Trump administration official also speculated that the virus began transmitting within central China’s Hubei province in September or October 2019, a potential time frame more in line with mainstream scientific views. (Forgey, 3/26)
Axios: Blinken Evasive On Punishing China For COVID Handling
Secretary of State Antony Blinken evaded questions about whether the U.S. would seek retaliatory actions against China for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak during an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, instead saying that the focus should be on preventing another pandemic in the future. The diplomat said there should be "accountability for the past," positioning himself in contrast to his predecessor Mike Pompeo, who had called for China to be punished, per CNN. (Saric, 3/28)
