The White House criticized a joint report by the World Health Organization and China into COVID-19’s origins — even before the Biden administration completed a review of the findings.
“The report lacks crucial data, information, and access. It represents a partial and incomplete picture,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday when asked about the study issued by a group of 17 international scientists and 17 scientists from China.
WHO CHIEF SAYS INVESTIGATION WITH CHINA INTO WUHAN LAB NOT EXTENSIVE ENOUGH
The United States is pressing for a “second stage” independent inquiry, during which investigators would be granted “unfettered access to data” and be permitted “to ask questions of people who were on the ground” during the initial outbreak.
“That’s a step the WHO could take,” Psaki said.
The U.S. issued a joint statement with over a dozen countries calling for just that.
“We also welcome a similar statement from the EU and EU members, sending a clear message the global community shares these concerns,” Psaki said, noting U.S. officials are still conducting a review of the report.
Asked if the White House is concerned by the possibility that the virus may have originated in a Wuhan lab, a theory China has dismissed, Psaki said China had failed to cooperate sufficiently and had provided insufficient data.
“They have not been transparent. They have not provided underlying data. That certainly doesn’t qualify as cooperation,” she said. “The report is still being reviewed by our team of experts — 17 experts are reviewing it — but it’s not sufficient.”
Over the weekend, Secretary of State Antony Blinken shared his concerns about the study, telling CNN, “There’s a report coming out shortly by the World Health Organization — we’ve got real concerns about the methodology and the process that went into that report, including the fact that the government in Beijing apparently helped to write it.”
Psaki said Tuesday that Biden “shares these concerns” and would speak to them once the review had concluded.
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More than 2.7 million people worldwide have died from the coronavirus.
