March 22, 2021
Did covid-19 escape from a Wuhan lab? The WHO report can’t be the final word.
The World Health Organization’s final report on its investigation into covid-19’s origin is due any day now. But a major revelation has already emerged: This month, two members of the WHO investigative team acknowledged that lab workers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China were sick — from what, it is not yet clear — in fall 2019, before the public coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.
That information confirms an assertion in a Jan. 15 statement by the State Department (where I worked at the time), and it represents the sort of fact pattern that investigators would expect if covid originated with an accidental lab leak, one of several possible but unproven theories.
No government, no public health official, no one affected by covid should accept such unserious explanations.
So will the final WHO report focus on the Wuhan Institute of Virology? Don’t count on it. Because the same WHO investigators who — responding to media inquiries — confirmed the existence of the sick lab workers immediately played down the importance of the information.
Read the full article from The Washington Post.
More from CNAS
-
Seoul, Washington Formalize Nuclear Sub Talks; North Korea Contact Eyed via Condolence Diplomacy
South Korea and the United States are deepening their military cooperation, with nuclear-powered submarines on the table and wartime operational control once again under discu...
By Dr. Go Myong-Hyun
-
Trump’s Week in Asia: Gifts, Deals, and Submarines
This article was originally published on War on the Rocks. Trump’s trip generated several positive outcomes. He showed up, which matters disproportionately in far-flung Asia. ...
By Jacob Stokes
-
Defense / Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security
To Compete with China on Military AI, U.S. Should Set the StandardsThe United States has an opportunity to lead in global norms and standards for military AI at a critical moment, when the foundations laid today could shape how militaries use...
By Jacob Stokes, Paul Scharre & Josh Wallin
-
Arirang News | China to Host APEC 2026
Dr. Go Myong-hyun, CNAS adjunct senior fellow, joined Arirang News to discuss the closing of the recent APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting 2025, the upcoming summit between Chines...
By Dr. Go Myong-Hyun
