Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
WHO Defends 'First Start' On Covid Origins; US, Other Nations Demand More Transparency
AP: WHO Team Urges Patience After 1st Look For Origin Of Virus
An international team behind a long-awaited study of the possible origins of COVID-19 with Chinese colleagues on Tuesday called it a “first start,” while the United States and allies expressed concerns about the findings and China trumpeted its cooperation. Team leader Peter Ben Embarek of the World Health Organization presented the team’s first-phase look into the possible origins of the pandemic that has killed nearly 2.8 million people and pummeled economies since it first turned up in China over a year ago. (Keaten, 3/30)
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Calls For Independent Study Of Covid-19 Origin
The U.S. and more than a dozen other countries expressed concern about a World Health Organization-led mission to China to explore the origins of Covid-19, saying it came too late and wasn’t afforded full or timely access to pertinent data. The statement, backed by Australia, Japan, Canada, the U.K. and other states, called for “transparent and independent analysis and evaluation, free from interference and undue influence.” (Hinshaw and Page, 3/30)
Politico: WHO Chief: Team Investigating Coronavirus Origins Had Difficulties Accessing Data
The team investigating the origins of the coronavirus in China had difficulties accessing the raw data, World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tuesday. Referring to the team’s investigation into the theory that the pandemic could have resulted from a laboratory leak, Tedros said that he did “not believe that this assessment was extensive enough.” “Further data and studies will be needed to reach more robust conclusions,” he added. He made his remarks to member countries before a press conference coinciding with the publication of the report. (Furlong, 3/30)
The New York Times: White House Demanded China Provide More Access Over Virus Origin
The White House on Tuesday accused China of hampering the World Health Organization’s investigation into the origins of the coronavirus and demanded Beijing be more “transparent” by providing greater access to data about the initial outbreak in late 2019. The joint report from a W.H.O. team and Chinese scientists, released on Tuesday, was inconclusive, but surmised that the pandemic most likely began from animal-to-human transmission and began widely circulating in the city of Wuhan, China, as Chinese officials have long asserted. (Thrush, 3/30)
The Washington Post: WHO Report Fails To Settle 'Lab-Leak' Theory On Origins Of Covid Pandemic
Shortly after evidence emerged that a new coronavirus was spreading in the Chinese city of Wuhan in January 2020, speculation mounted about the origins of the lethal pathogen. Right-wing news outlets in the United States published tendentious and thinly sourced reports that the virus may have come from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, famous in the scientific community for researching coronaviruses in bats. In April, President Donald Trump suspended U.S. funding for the World Health Organization, which he accused of being subservient to Chinese officials, and said that the U.S. government was investigating the lab as a potential source of the virus. (Harris, Rauhala, Guarino and Mooney, 3/30)
USA Today: Coronavirus Origins: Five Key Points From WHO Report On China Trip
The World Health Organization released a report Tuesday detailing the findings of its review into the origins of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The report is the result of a trip to China taken by a 17-person WHO team from Jan. 14 to Feb. 10. The team collaborated with an equal number of Chinese scientists to explore genetic, epidemiological and animal data from the earliest known days of what became a pandemic. The 120-page report, produced by the WHO team, offered four possible origin stories for the SARS-CoV-2 virus – ranging from a lab leak to a jump from animals to humans. Rather than offering firm conclusions, it called for further investigation. (Weibtraub, 3/30)
