US President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered his intelligence agencies to further investigate the origins of Covid-19, saying his administration was taking seriously the possibility that the virus accidentally "escaped" from a lab.
As some countries prepare to return to a semblance of "life before" more than a year after the start of the pandemic, one question still arises:where does the coronavirus come from? Long dismissed, the theory of a pathogen accidentally leaking from a lab has recently regained credibility following the publication of an article in the Wall Street Journal.
Published this Sunday, May 23, and based on intelligence documents prepared at the end of the mandate by the Trump administration, the latter points out that three laboratory workers from Wuhan were hospitalized in November 2019, shortly before the outbreak of the epidemic in China , for symptoms "consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illnesses “.
This information would not have been communicated by the American intelligence agencies. This means that their veracity is more difficult to authenticate.
A few months ago, the report by WHO researchers dispatched to Wuhan to identify the origins of Covid-19 had nevertheless considered the leak of the coronavirus from a lab as "highly unlikely". On the contrary, these same researchers had favored the track of an intermediate host animal, itself infected by a "reservoir species".
Only at the time, many experts strongly criticized China's interference in this investigation . The WHO report dismissing the possibility of a lab leak also compelled some scientists to speak out.
“When I read this I was very frustrated “, underlines indeed Akiko Iwasaki, immunologist at Yale University. Along with other researchers, she co-signed a letter published in the journal Science a few weeks ago, pointing out that there was not enough evidence to date to decide whether a natural origin or an accidental laboratory leak was cause of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I think this is really an unanswered question that really needs more rigorous investigation “, she said. And President Biden seems to agree.
The latter had asked last March for an internal evaluation of the origins of the virus. Delivered about two weeks ago, this report was marked by the lack of consensus among intelligence agencies. With China having recently taken a strong stance against cooperating with the WHO on new investigations, Biden has therefore decided to push for a more thorough investigation in the United States, ordering these agencies to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze. information about the origin of the pandemic. A report will be submitted in three months .
Chinese officials meanwhile continue to take a defensive stance. A few days ago, Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, dodged the question of whether or not the WHO would be allowed to conduct a more in-depth investigation in China. He also took the opportunity to bring up again the baseless theory that the virus came from a US military laboratory.
"China takes origin research work seriously with a responsible attitude and has made positive contributions that are widely recognized “, he insisted. "If the US side really demands a fully transparent investigation, it should follow China's lead in inviting WHO experts to the US “.
