Five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) once again urged China to share data and information to uncover how the pandemic began. "We continue to demand data and access from China so that we can understand the origins of COVID-19," the WHO emphasized, adding that this is a "moral and scientific imperative," according to Die Zeit.
The WHO recalled that on December 31, 2019, its office in China received a report from the Wuhan Municipal Health Committee regarding cases of viral pneumonia, as reported by The Straits Times. These initial cases in Wuhan were the first signs of what would later be identified as COVID-19, the organization noted, emphasizing the importance of transparency in understanding the virus's origins.
"Without transparency and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics," the WHO stated, stressing the importance of international collaboration, according to Die Zeit. The organization sent missions to China on two occasions to clarify the origins of COVID-19, but it was not until 2021 that a joint commission of experts from China and the WHO was able to visit Wuhan, as reported by Die Zeit.
In September 2023, an international scientific study provided further evidence that COVID-19 originally came from wild animals traded at a market in Wuhan, ruling out the hypothesis that the virus was produced in a laboratory, according to Die Zeit. However, the origin and transmission route of the coronavirus were not clearly established, and there are still suspicions that the virus leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, Die Zeit reported.
WHO experts maintain that all theories about the origins of COVID-19 remain open, including the possibility of a lab leak, as stated by El Universo. Meanwhile, the Chinese government and state media conducted a campaign suggesting the virus may have come from abroad, while authorities in Beijing insist it spread from a wet market. Since the pandemic's beginning, China has been concerned about being blamed for the global outbreak.
Earlier this month, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was asked whether the world is better prepared today for a potential future pandemic. He responded, "The answer is: both yes and no. If the next pandemic were to happen today, the world would face the same weaknesses that allowed COVID-19 to establish and spread five years ago," according to The Straits Times. "But the world has also learned many painful lessons from the pandemic and has taken significant steps to strengthen its defenses against future pandemics," he added.
In December 2021, spurred by the devastation caused by COVID-19, several countries began drafting an accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, as reported by La República. The 194 WHO member states negotiating the treaty accept its content but remain stuck on important practical aspects, including the obligation to rapidly share emerging pathogens and the benefits derived from them, La República noted.
A key fault line in the negotiations lies between Western nations with large pharmaceutical industries and poorer countries that fear being marginalized in a future pandemic, according to La República. Outstanding issues include the central objective of the treaty: the obligation to rapidly share emerging pathogens and benefits such as vaccines, as reported by O Globo. The deadline for completing negotiations on the pandemic accord is currently set for May 2025.
The WHO declared the coronavirus a pandemic on March 11, 2020, as noted by Panorama.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq