Republicans on a House committee urged for a bipartisan Congressional investigation into the origins of COVID-19 on July 30, citing stonewalling by China’s communist authorities who have refused to share key information about the outbreak.
“If we expect to fully understand the origins of COVID-19, relevant committees of jurisdiction, including the Science Committee, must come together in a bipartisan manner and use our oversight powers to uncover the truth, identify lessons learned, and establish best practices for future public health challenges,” the members of Congress wrote.
“We owe it to the American people, and the rest of the world, to investigate its origins so that we are better prepared to prevent and respond to future pandemics.”
At the hearing, two microbiologists explored a range of theories, with neither ready to dismiss the possibility of a “lab-associated mechanism” and one of them calling attention to the “risky” research being conducted by scientists at a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
The WHO has called for a follow-up probe into the origins of the virus, including further studies in China along with lab audits, which Chinese officials have recently rejected. Zeng Yixin, the vice minister of China’s National Health Commission, said at a recent press conference that he was surprised by the WHO’s request for a team to return to Wuhan, calling the move “not scientific.”
In May, President Joe Biden called on U.S. intelligence officials to investigate the origins of the CCP virus, including the possibility of a lab leak, and to report back in 90 days.
