COVID-19 origin: US & UK back 'timely & transparent' next phase of WHO study in China

In a big development on Thursday, the US and the UK extended support for the next phase of the WHO-convened global study in China to trace the COVID-19 origin. This was a part of the joint statement issued on the visit of US President Joe Biden to the UK. Amid growing calls to further investigate the origin of the novel coronavirus, the nations stressed that the process should be "timely, transparent and evidence-based". In their first face-to-face meeting ahead of the G7 summit, Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also agreed to a revitalized Atlantic Charter. 

The joint statement read, "The U.K. and U.S. recognise the central importance of the WHO in global health security. The U.K. and the U.S. will work together and with like-minded Member States to implement the WHO strengthening resolution adopted at the World Health Assembly in May 2021. We will also support a timely, transparent and evidence-based independent process for the next phase of the WHO-convened COVID-19 origins study, including in China, and for investigating outbreaks of unknown origin in the future." 

On this occasion, Biden and Johnson promised to establish a joint UK-US Experts' Working Group to provide recommendations on the resumption of "safe and sustainable" international travel amid the COVID-19 crisis. Pledging to increase global vaccine supply through investments, they also called for avoiding "export restrictions" on vaccines and key components. In the wake of the pandemic, the leaders had a consensus on strengthening multilateral vaccine initiatives including COVAX. 

Read the full joint statement here: 

Controversy over WHO-convened study 

An international team comprising 17 Chinese and 17 international experts conducted a joint study in this regard from January 14-February 10, 2021 in Wuhan. With the Terms of Reference focusing on the introduction of the novel coronavirus virus in the city, the report issued on March 20 claimed that a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology was an "extremely unlikely" scenario. Interestingly, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus raised concerns about data being withheld from the team and said that the lab leak theory required "further investigation". 

In a statement issued on May 26, US President Joe Biden stated that he had asked the Intelligence Community to collect information for a definitive conclusion regarding the COVID-19 origin and report back to him within 90 days. Moreover, he asserted that the US will keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a transparent and evidence-based international investigation besides providing access to all relevant data. India too has pressed for more data and studies in this regard to reach "robust conclusions".

The COVID-19 origin debate

Republic Media Network has been leading the campaign #ChinaCOVIDTruth, with many experts from around the globe calling for a re-examination of the origin of the virus. Noted British science writer Nicholas Wade has self-published papers re-igniting the discourse on whether the deadly virus was developed in a lab or whether it was naturally transmitted into humans from bats, as claimed thus far. The present debate was also ignited by a military document titled 'The Unnatural Origin of SARS and New Species of Man-Made Viruses as Genetic Bioweapons'.

Speaking exclusively to Republic TV, Dr. Manali Rahalkar and Dr. Rahul Bahulikar revealed another dimension to this issue by tracing the possible origins of COVID-19 back to 2012. They referred to 6 miners falling sick while working in a bat cave in the Mojiang province of China. After three of the miners died showing symptoms of COVID-19 including cough, pneumonia and blood clotting, Shi Zhengli- the Director of the Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Wuhan Institute of Virology concluded that the virus was RaTG13 - which subsequently emerged as the closest known relative of SARS-CoV-2.