Corona pandemic Five years after the coronavirus outbreak, WHO is still waiting for data from China
Five years after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) is still waiting for data from China. It has now once again called on the country to cooperate. Beijing apparently fears being held responsible for the disaster.
30.12.2024, 21:01
SDA
"We continue to call on China to share data and access so that we can understand the origins of Covid-19," explained the WHO in Geneva on Monday. "This is a moral and scientific imperative." It is about learning lessons for the future.
Without "transparency", the sharing of information and cooperation between countries, "the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics", the WHO warned.
Infections with the novel coronavirus were first detected in humans in China at the end of 2019. The pathogen quickly spread around the world, and to date more than seven million people worldwide have died in connection with the virus. The pandemic and the measures taken to contain it have also had serious economic and social consequences.
During the coronavirus pandemic, the WHO repeatedly complained about the Chinese authorities' lack of transparency and cooperation. The exact origin of the pandemic is still the subject of bitter debate.
In its statement, the WHO now described how its branch in China became aware of a press release from the health authority of the megacity of Wuhan on December 31, 2019, which reported cases of pneumonia caused by a virus.
Tough struggle for pandemic agreement
In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, the international community began working on an agreement to prevent and combat pandemics in December 2021. Although the 194 WHO member states have agreed on the most important contents of the agreement, negotiations on its practical implementation have stalled.
This concerns, among other things, the requirement to share information on emerging pathogens with other countries and institutions as quickly as possible, as well as the benefits of having this information, for example in the form of new vaccines. Negotiations on the pandemic agreement should be concluded by May 2025.
