‘WHO should not lead pandemic origins probe’

Agency is not up to task, say experts, add political tensions between the US and China make it impossible for probe by the agency to find credible answers

As the World Health Organization draws up plans for the next phase of its probe of how the coronavirus pandemic started, an increasing number of scientists say the UN agency it isn’t up to the task and shouldn’t be the one to investigate.

Numerous experts, some with strong ties to WHO, say political tensions between the US and China make it impossible for an investigation by the agency to find credible answers. They say what’s needed is a broad, independent analysis closer to what happened in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

The first part of a joint WHO-China study of how Covid-19 started concluded in March that the virus probably jumped to humans from animals and that a lab leak was ‘extremely unlikely.’ The next phase might try to examine the first human cases in more detail or pinpoint the animals responsible – possibly bats, perhaps by way of some intermediate creature. But the idea that the pandemic somehow started in a laboratory ‘and perhaps involved an engineered virus’ has gained traction recently, with US President Joe Biden ordering a review of U.S. intelligence within 90 days to assess the possibility.

Earlier this month, WHO’s emergencies chief, Dr Michael Ryan, said that the agency was working out the final details of the next phase of its probe and that because WHO works ‘by persuasion,’ it lacks the power to compel China to cooperate.

Some said that is precisely why a WHO-led examination is doomed to fail. “We will never find the origins relying on the World Health Organization,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Public Health Law and Human Rights at Georgetown University. “For a year and a half, they have been stonewalled by China, and it’s very clear they won’t get to the bottom of it.” Gostin said the US and other countries can either try to piece together what intelligence they have, revise international health laws to give WHO the powers it needs, or create a new entity to investigate.

Germany recommends combination of shots

Germany recommends that all people who get a first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine switch to a different  vaccine for their second shot.  Researchers have said mixing vaccines is likely safe and effective, but are still gathering data to be sure. The country’s standing committee on vaccination said, “according to current study results,” the immune response from a mixture of AstraZeneca with an mRNA vaccine was “significantly superior” to that from two doses of AstraZeneca.

Australia further curbs new arrivals 

Australia plans to halve commercial passenger arrivals due to virus risks as parts of the country emerged from lockdowns Friday. Australia will reduce its cap on arrivals from 6,000 passengers a week to 3,000 by July 14 to reduce pressure on hotel quarantine, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

J&J’s single-dose vaccine promising against Delta

Johnson & Johnson on Thursday announced that its single-shot Covid-19 vaccine showed promising signs of protection against the Delta variant rapidly spreading across the US and other countries, in a small laboratory study. According to the company report, the vaccine generated strong,  persistent activity against the rapidly spreading Delta variant and other highly prevalent SARS-CoV-2 viral variants. In addition, the data showed that the durability of the immune response lasted through at least eight months, the length of time evaluated to date. In the ensemble trial, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was 85 per cent effective against severe/critical disease and demonstrated protection against hospitalisation and death. The vaccine was consistently effective across all regions studied globally.

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