WHO chief says he discussed with Chinese PM collaboration on origin of COVID-19

The director of the World Health Organization said on Saturday that he had discussed with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang the need for further collaboration on the origins of the COVID-19a controversial issue that has strained Beijing’s relations with the West.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has previously pressured China to provide more data and information related to the origin of the virus.

“Delighted to meet with Premier Li Keqiang,” Tedros tweeted. “We talked about COVID-19 and the need for an aggressive effort at VaccinEquity this year to vaccinate 70% of all populations,” he said, referring to the WHO campaign for fair access to vaccines around the world. .

“We also discussed the need for stronger collaboration on the origins of the COVID-19 virus, based on science and evidence,” he added.

The WHO last year created the Scientific Advisory Group on the Origins of New Pathogens (SAGO) and asked China to supply data to help any new research. China refused, citing patient privacy regulations.

China has consistently denied allegations that the virus leaked from a specialized laboratory in the city of Wuhan, where COVID-19 was first identified in late 2019.

A joint study by China and the WHO published last year all but ruled out the theory that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory, saying the most likely hypothesis was that it infected humans naturally, probably through trade in wild animals.

Last November, China said that a declassified US intelligence report that the pandemic likely originated in a laboratory was unscientific and unreliable.