WHO implores China to finally share Covid origins data, five years on
GuardianDEC 22 2024
WHO Urges China to Share COVID Origins Data
Above: Aerial view of the campus of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, China, on Dec. 21, 2024, ahead of the fifth anniversary of China confirming its first death from COVID. Image copyright: Hector Retamal/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Facts
The World Health Organization (WHO) marked the fifth anniversary of COVID's emergence on Tuesday by calling on China to share data about the pandemic's origins, emphasizing this as both "a moral and scientific imperative."
The first cases of what was then referred to as "viral pneumonia" were detected in Wuhan on December 31, 2019, when the WHO's Country Office picked up a media statement from local health authorities.
According to WHO records, the pandemic has resulted in more than 760M confirmed cases and 6.9M deaths worldwide before being declared over as a public health emergency by the agency in mid-2023.
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
The world cannot adequately prepare for future pandemics without full transparency and cooperation from China regarding COVID's origins. Critical information remains withheld, hampering global efforts to prevent future outbreaks. The lack of complete data access continues to raise concerns about the true source of the virus.
Pro-China narrative
China has shared the most COVID data and research results in the international community, making the greatest contribution to global traceability research. Beijing immediately shared epidemic information and viral gene sequences without holding anything back, while organizing multiple expert visits to all requested locations.