The World Health Organization (WHO) asked China to share information about how COVID-19 started five years ago.
The coronavirus has killed millions, locked billions in their homes, crippled economies and destroyed health systems.
“We will continue to call on China to share data and access to understand the origin of COVID-19. This is important both ethically and scientifically,” WHO said in a statement.
“Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation between countries, the world cannot prevent and prepare for future pandemics and epidemics.”
The WHO also explained how on December 31, 2019, its office in China received information from health officials in the central city of Wuhan about “viral pneumonia”.
“In the weeks, months and years that followed, COVID-19 changed our lives and our world,” the UN Health agency said.
“As we mark this event, let's take a moment to honor the lives that have been changed and lost, to recognize those who are suffering from COVID-19 and Long COVID, to thank the healthcare workers who have sacrificed so much to care for us, and to commit to doing this. learning from COVID-19 for better health tomorrow.”
Beijing insisted on Tuesday that it had shared information about the coronavirus “without any retaliation”.
“Five years ago… China immediately shared information on the epidemic and the number of viruses with the WHO and other countries. Without any retribution, we shared our experience in prevention, control and treatment, and made a great contribution to the fight against the epidemic in the world, “Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said.
'Hard lessons'
According to the WHO, more than 760 million cases of COVID-19 and 6.9 million deaths have been recorded worldwide.
In mid-2023, it declared the end of COVID-19 as an emergency but said the disease should serve as a permanent reminder of the potential for new viruses to emerge with dire consequences.
Information from the early days of the epidemic was uploaded by Chinese scientists to a global database in early 2023, months after China lifted all of its COVID-19 restrictions and reopened its borders to the rest of the world.
The data showed that DNA from several species of animals – including raccoon dogs – were present in natural samples that were found to be infected with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and showed that they “are the mechanisms” of the disease, according to the team. international researchers.
In 2021, a team led by the WHO spent several weeks in Wuhan – where the first cases were found – and said that the virus spreads from bats to humans through other animals, but further research is needed.
China said no further inspections were necessary and that the search for original cases should be carried out in other countries.
Earlier this month, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commented on whether the world was better prepared for the next pandemic than it was for COVID-19.
“The answer is yes and no,” he said at a press conference. “If the next pandemic hit today the world would still be experiencing the same weaknesses that made COVID-19 stable five years ago.
“But the world has also learned the painful lessons this pandemic has taught us, and has taken steps to strengthen its defenses against future pandemics and epidemics.”
In December 2021, overwhelmed by the devastation caused by COVID, countries decided to start creating an agreement on epidemic prevention, preparedness and response.
The 194 WHO member countries negotiating the deal have agreed on many of the terms it should include, but are stuck on what to do.
The main fault lies between the Western countries that have large pharmaceutical sectors and the poor countries that are afraid of being caught by the next epidemic.