A joint WHO-China report on the origins of COVID-19 claimed that transmission of the virus from bats to humans by another species is the most probable scenario and that a lab spill is "highly doubtful." The WHO report was as planned, but several questions remained unanswered. Except for the laboratory leak hypothesis, the team suggested further testing in every field.
WHO report claimed COVID-19 likely came from animals
The report's release has been repeatedly postponed, prompting concerns about whether the Chinese side is attempting to distort the findings to avoid taking responsibility for the pandemic. Late last week, a World Health Organization (WHO) official predicted that it would be available for release "in the next few days."
On Monday, the Associated Press obtained a near-final version from a Geneva-based diplomat from a WHO member country. It was unclear if the report would be changed until it was published. Since they were not allowed to disclose it before publication, the diplomat did not want to be identified.
In order of likelihood, the researchers identified four possibilities, N.Y. Post reported. They concluded that transmission through a second animal was possible. They also concluded that direct transmission from bats to humans was probable and that transmission through "cold-chain" food items was likely.
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Bats, which are believed to bear coronaviruses, have been shown to have the nearest relative of the virus that causes COVID-19. According to the report, the evolutionary gap between these bat viruses and SARS-CoV-2 is estimated to be several decades, indicating a missing link.
It claimed that pangolins have viruses that are very similar to the COVID virus. Still, mink and cats are also vulnerable to the COVID virus, suggesting that they may be carriers. The study is based in part on a mid-January to mid-February visit by a WHO team of foreign experts to Wuhan, China, where COVID-19 was first detected.
The report had been finalized and was being fact-checked and translated, according to Peter Ben Embarek, the WHO expert who headed the Wuhan mission. "I expect that the whole project will be finished in the next few days, and we will be able to announce it publicly," he said.
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Officials are concerned with the WHO report about COVID-19 origin
Officials from the U.S. President Joe Biden administration voiced doubts on Sunday about how the main report on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic was published, including the suggestion that the Chinese government had a hand in it. The reports from the WHO's mission to Wuhan, China, in early 2021 will be ready in a few days, as per the Geneva-based organization.
The report was supposed to come out in March. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN that the U.S. has "real concerns" about the report's methodology and process, including the fact that the Chinese government "apparently helped to write it."
Although there should be "accountability for the past," Blinken said on "State of the Union" that the emphasis should be on building a stronger system for the future. When asked about the study on CBS, Anthony Fauci, the top infectious diseases expert in the U.S., said he did not know whether it would be a "whitewash" and would not prejudge the findings.
For weeks, the Biden administration put pressure on China and the WHO over what it claims is a flawed probe, as per Bloomberg. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. is worried over a lack of clarity and evidence in the report's preparation.
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