LONDON—A group of experts commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) has released its final report on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the findings remain inconclusive. Scientists are still uncertain about how the most significant health crisis in a century began. At a recent press briefing, Marietjie Venter, who chairs the expert group, stated that most scientific data continues to support the hypothesis that the coronavirus made a species leap from animals to humans.
This conclusion aligns with the initial assessment made by WHO experts in 2021, who suggested the virus likely transferred from bats to humans through another animal host. During that period, WHO considered the possibility of a lab leak as “extremely unlikely.”
Despite over three years of investigation, Venter explained that the group was unable to obtain sufficient data to determine if COVID-19 was a result of a laboratory mishap. This was due to outstanding requests for genetic sequences and comprehensive details on biosecurity protocols from the Chinese authorities that were not fulfilled.
“This hypothesis could neither be substantiated nor dismissed,” Venter remarked. “It is predominantly speculative, influenced by political sentiments without scientific backing.” Notably, the 27-member team failed to reach a unanimous decision, with one expert resigning recently and three others requesting the omission of their names from the final report.
According to Venter, there was no evidence suggesting that COVID-19 was artificially engineered in a lab nor proof that the virus was present outside China before December 2019. She emphasized that the path of SARS-CoV-2 into human populations remains unresolved until more scientific data emerges.
WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, underscored the ethical importance of uncovering the virus’s origins, highlighting the massive human toll with over 20 million deaths, significant economic damage exceeding $10 trillion, and widespread societal disruption.
Investigations by various parties, including an inquiry by the previous year, have suggested that China’s government halted crucial local and international efforts to trace how the virus spread in the initial stages of the outbreak in 2020. Furthermore, WHO may have overlooked preliminary opportunities to deeply investigate the pandemic’s roots.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has frequently attributed the emergence of the coronavirus to a laboratory accident in China. However, an analysis by U.S. intelligence found that evidence supporting this theory was lacking. Meanwhile, Chinese officials have consistently rejected the lab-origin narrative, suggesting that the origin search should also include other countries.
In September of the prior year, researchers identified a group of animals, such as raccoon dogs, civet cats, and bamboo rats, as potential carriers that could have transmitted COVID-19 to humans, offering leads for further exploration into the pandemic’s origins.