The World Health Organization’s (WHO) long-anticipated report on the origins of Covid-19 has been criticized by the United States and 13 other countries, reported Livemint.
In a joint statement, the group of 14 countries argued that the WHO team was significantly delayed and lacked access to complete, original data and samples.
The United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom said in a statement that they fully supported the WHO’s efforts to bring an end to the pandemic, including understanding how the deadly virus started and spread.
“It was essential that we voice our shared concerns that the international expert study on the source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was significantly delayed and lacked access to complete, original data and samples”, the joint statement read.
It added that a rapid, independent, expert-led, and unimpeded evaluation of the origins of the coronavirus outbreak is crucial to better prepare the people, public health institutions, industries, and governments across the world to respond successfully to such an outbreak and prevent future pandemics.
The group called for a renewed commitment by the WHO and all Member States to access, transparency, and timeliness.
The statement comes after the global health body released a long-awaited joint report on the origins of Covid-19 on Tuesday. As per the report, the transmission from bats to another animal and subsequently to humans was most likely how the pandemic began.
Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that data was withheld from the investigators who made a visit to China to research the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. He demanded further research to reach more robust conclusions.
“In my discussions with the team, they expressed the difficulties they encountered in accessing raw data,” Tedros said. “I expect future collaborative studies to include more timely and comprehensive data sharing.”
