Topline
The Biden administration has “deep concerns” about a World Health Organization probe into the origins of Covid-19, and is demanding the Chinese government release more data on the pandemic to international researchers, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Saturday — a statement echoing Trump-era complaints.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan talks to reporters during the daily press … [+]
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Key Facts
In a statement released days after WHO investigators said the coronavirus probably originated in animals, rather than in a laboratory in China, Sullivan said the White House has questions about how the organization reached some of its early findings.
Sullivan called on China to offer up data from the coronavirus outbreak’s early days, and he demanded the country avoid interfering in the WHO’s ongoing investigation into the virus (the organization is expected to release its final findings in the next few weeks).
Sullivan’s comments come after State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Tuesday said U.S. officials need to review data for China before settling on a theory for where the coronavirus came from, telling reporters “we want to see that for ourselves.”
The WHO and the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Crucial Quote
“We have deep concerns about the way in which the early findings of the COVID-19 investigation were communicated and questions about the process used to reach them,” Sullivan wrote in a statement Saturday.
Key Background
After weeks of research into the roots of Covid-19, a team of WHO-affiliated scientists on Tuesday concluded the virus probably originated in bats, calling the lab-leak theory (which was supported by former President Donald Trump but backed up by little evidence) “extremely unlikely.” Some observers, however, worry politics may have distracted from this work. Researchers’ visits to China were preceded by months of tense negotiations and fears China may not allow them in, and on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported Chinese officials refused to hand over raw data from late 2019, when the virus is believed to have first emerged.
Tangent
Trump withdrew the United States from the WHO last year, criticizing the agency for not taking stronger steps in the Covid-19 pandemic’s early days. Biden reversed this decision on his first day in office, but Sullivan wrote Saturday the administration plans on “holding it to the highest standards” by scrutinizing any WHO research.
Further Reading
China Refuses to Give WHO Raw Data on Early Covid-19 Cases (Wall Street Journal)
White House cites ‘deep concerns’ about WHO COVID-19 report, demands early data from China (Reuters)
China Scores a Public Relations Win After W.H.O. Mission to Wuhan (New York Times)
