Covid-19 Origin Search Must Continue

The Covid-19 pandemic recently marked its third year. Life has seemingly returned to normal for people in many countries. But Covid itself lingers. Milder variants with significantly higher lethality rates than the seasonal flu circulate. Long-Covid symptoms still plague those afflicted. The official worldwide Covid death toll tops 6 million, while the excess-death count is above 20 million. Just weeks ago, China abandoned its zero-Covid policy overnight without proper preparation, inducing a catastrophe of millions dead under the Omicron wave, as many elders were not vaccinated. Japan recently recorded a new peak in Covid deaths as of December 2022. To paraphrase Yogi Berra — the pandemic ain’t over until it’s over.

Against this backdrop of human tragedy, a pandemic that not only took human lives but also altered social norms and deepened political fault lines, mainstream media have neither critically covered nor objectively scrutinized the central question regarding the origin of Covid-19. Similarly, national leaders and international agencies have remained callously silent during the most recent summits of the United Nations, G7, and G20 — not a single word about the need to ascertain the origin of this existential risk. In the United States, where the Democratic Party had controlled Congress from 2021 until now, Congress failed to take action, such as issuing subpoenas for relevant U.S.-based research entities that partnered with Wuhan coronavirus labs.

About the Author

Jianli Yang

Jianli Yang is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Center for the National Interest and a columnist for National Review.

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About the Author

Austin Lin

Austin Lin is a scientist at the State University of New York and consultant to Citizen Power Initiatives for China.

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The Covid-19 pandemic recently marked its third year. Life has seemingly returned to normal for people in many countries. But Covid itself lingers. Milder variants with significantly higher lethality rates than the seasonal flu circulate. Long-Covid symptoms still plague those afflicted. The official worldwide Covid death toll tops 6 million, while the excess-death count is above 20 million. Just weeks ago, China abandoned its zero-Covid policy overnight without proper preparation, inducing a catastrophe of millions dead under the Omicron wave, as many elders were not vaccinated. Japan recently recorded a new peak in Covid deaths as of December 2022. To paraphrase Yogi Berra — the pandemic ain’t over until it’s over.

Against this backdrop of human tragedy, a pandemic that not only took human lives but also altered social norms and deepened political fault lines, mainstream media have neither critically covered nor objectively scrutinized the central question regarding the origin of Covid-19. Similarly, national leaders and international agencies have remained callously silent during the most recent summits of the United Nations, G7, and G20 — not a single word about the need to ascertain the origin of this existential risk. In the United States, where the Democratic Party had controlled Congress from 2021 until now, Congress failed to take action, such as issuing subpoenas for relevant U.S.-based research entities that partnered with Wuhan coronavirus labs.