The World Health Organization’s expert team, after more than three years of research, has released its final assessment on the origins of COVID-19 — and the answer remains elusive.
Despite extensive efforts, the group concluded that the starting point of the global pandemic that killed millions and disrupted economies worldwide is still unknown, according to the Associated Press.
Marietjie Venter, who chaired the panel, noted during a Friday press briefing that most existing scientific evidence supports the theory of animal-to-human transmission.
This aligns with findings from the WHO’s original 2021 investigation, which pointed to bats and possibly an intermediary species as the likely sources. At that time, a laboratory origin was considered “extremely unlikely.”
However, Venter emphasized that a lack of access to critical data, including genetic sequences and detailed biosecurity records from China, prevented the team from either confirming or dismissing the lab-leak theory.
“Therefore, this hypothesis could not be investigated or excluded,” she said.
Venter also described the theory as speculative and driven more by political narratives than scientific backing.
Internal disagreements led one member to resign ahead of the report’s release, and three others to request anonymity.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed the importance of uncovering the pandemic’s origins, calling it a “moral imperative” given COVID-19’s staggering global toll — more than 20 million lives lost and trillions in economic damage.
While researchers have identified several animals, such as raccoon dogs, civet cats, and bamboo rats, as potential transmission hosts, definitive links remain unproven.
Venter reiterated that no evidence supports claims of genetic manipulation or virus circulation before December 2019 outside China.
Political tensions also loom over the investigation. The Associated Press previously reported China stalled efforts to uncover the origins during the pandemic’s initial weeks.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has insisted a Chinese lab was to blame, an accusation Beijing has rejected outright and has urged investigations into other countries.
Until more comprehensive scientific data becomes available, the exact pathway by which the virus entered the human population remains unresolved.
