WH 'gratified' WHO delaying China virus report

The White House Friday welcomed news from the World Health Organization that the release of an interim report into the origins of the coronavirus will be delayed.

The WHO mission was investigating the origins of the pandemic in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected late in 2019.

Press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters the Biden administration was "gratified," with the delay and described it as a "positive step," that came about after U.S. engagement with the world health body.

President Joe Biden reversed the Trump administration's move to leave the WHO.

Last month White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington had "deep concerns about the way in which the early findings of the COVID-19 investigation were communicated and questions about the process used to reach them."

The 10-nation WHO team departed Wuhan after nearly a month. It visited markets, hospitals and research centers, including the highly secure Wuhan Institute of Virology that has been the subject of speculation because of its large collection of bat virus specimens.

The mission was intended to be an initial step in the process of understanding the origins of the virus, which scientists have posited may have passed to humans through a wild animal, such as a pangolin or bamboo rat. They said transmission directly from bats to humans or through the trade in frozen food products are also possibilities, but an alternate theory that the virus leaked from a Chinese lab was unlikely.

The WHO team's visit was politically sensitive for Beijing, which is concerned about being blamed for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak. An AP investigation has found that the Chinese government put limits on research into the outbreak and ordered scientists not to speak to reporters.

Asked by reporters about China and Russia's diplomatic use of coronavirus vaccines, Psaki admitted the White House was "concerned."