Washington, Dec 4 (Agency) A two-year investigation by the US House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis in a report rhas concluded that COVID-19 “likely emerged from a laboratory or research-related accident.” The findings, outlined in a 520-page report, have reignited debate over the origins of the virus that has claimed over 7 million lives globally and disrupted economies worldwide, according to Al Jazeera. “This work will help the United States, and the world, predict the next pandemic, prepare for the next pandemic, protect ourselves from the next pandemic, and hopefully prevent the next pandemic,” Brad Wenstrup, the Republican chairman of the panel, said in a letter to Congress. Among the report’s headline conclusions was that the US National Institutes of Health (NIS) funded contentious “gain-of-function” research – which enhances viruses to find ways to combat them – at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China prior to the outbreak.
Cases of COVID-19 were first identified in Wuhan – located in central China’s Hubei province – in December 2019, with the city widely believed to be where the virus first emerged. The virus quickly spread worldwide, killing more than 7 million people and creating turmoil in the global economy as countries closed borders and ordered lockdowns. While US federal agencies, the World Health Organization and scientists worldwide have sought to determine the origins of COVID-19, a consensus has not emerged. While several US federal agencies, including the Department of Energy and the FBI, have supported the lab leak theory with varying degrees of confidence, the global scientific community remains divided. Many researchers still believe that COVID-19 had a zoonotic origin, likely spreading from animals to humans at a wet market in Wuhan. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has been a focal point in the controversy. Republicans have accused Fauci of funding the research that may have led to the outbreak, a claim he firmly denies. In a public hearing, Fauci stated, “It would have been molecularly impossible for the bat viruses studied at the Wuhan lab to evolve into SARS-CoV-2.” The report also criticised several public health measures implemented during the pandemic, including lockdowns and mask mandates, suggesting they were largely ineffective and caused more harm than good. This conclusion stands in contrast to numerous studies highlighting the role of masking and social distancing in reducing transmission rates.