Climate & Health

WHO's COVID origins investigation in China has become 'very difficult'

The U.N. health agency says it updated its plans based on China's response but there's been "no quiet shelving of any plans" for investigating how the COVID-19 pandemic began.

, and John Heilprin

February 15, 2023 . 11:58 PM

3 min read

The first reported outbreak of COVID-19 was in Wuhan, China linked to the Huanan seafood market (AN/Squidward Handsome/Unsplash)

Top World Health Organization officials say they'll keep trying to learn how COVID-19 began but have run up against a lack of full cooperation from China.

"WHO has not abandoned studying the origins of COVID-19. We have not. And we will not," said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead for COVID-19.

"But we need cooperation from our colleagues in China to advance this," she said Wednesday. "I do also want to mention that through the work of studying the origins, it is very difficult."