Origin Debate Escalates | Global Health NOW
▻https://www.globalhealthnow.org/2021-05/origin-debate-escalates
President Biden ordered US intelligence agencies to step up efforts to investigate the origins of COVID-19, the AP reports, amid growing pressure fueled by reports this week supporting the theory that the virus escaped from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Biden’s statement yesterday revealed a US intelligence community split, with 2 agencies seeing an animal spillover source as more likely, while a third leans toward the lab leak theory. He directed the agencies to prepare a report, including a list of specific queries for the Chinese government, within 90 days.
The downside : The politically-charged debate could hurt global efforts to study the virus, end COVID-19, and prevent future pandemics, writes Amy Maxmen in Nature.
US-China tension threatens to overshadow collaborative efforts at the World Health Assembly this week, at a point when global solidarity and consensus among powerful countries is key. “A confrontational approach will make things worse,” warns the Center for Global Development’s Amanda Glassman.
And, pressure on China could backfire, making Chinese scientists and officials less likely to share information, says Kristian Andersen, a Scripps Research virologist.
Another challenge: Getting definitive answers on the virus’s origin without cooperation from China, CNN notes. Divisive US politics threaten to cloud any conclusions, too.
The probe needs to be based on a scientific method, “which means you don’t go into this with a preferred conclusion and then cherry pick your data to fit that conclusion,” George Washington University professor Leana Wen told CNN.
Divisive COVID ‘lab leak’ debate prompts dire warnings from researchers
▻https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01383-3