GENEVA – The World Health Organization’s Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) has renewed calls for transparency from China on the origins of COVID-19 in its latest report.
The Geneva-based WHO released the report on Thursday, June 27, summarizing over three years of investigation by 27 independent international experts examining how SARS-CoV-2 emerged and triggered a global pandemic.
“The weight of available evidence suggests zoonotic spillover, either directly from bats or through an intermediate host,” the SAGO report stated, while admitting gaps in crucial data hinder definitive conclusions.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked SAGO members and emphasized that “all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak.”
Dr Ghebreyesus urged China and any other country with relevant information to “share it openly, in the interests of protecting the world from future pandemics.”
SAGO noted that China has not provided key data, including genetic sequences from early COVID-19 cases, animal trade details from Wuhan markets, or laboratory records related to SARS-CoV-2.
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Dr Marietjie Venter, SAGO Chair and South African virologist, called the investigation “a moral and ethical imperative” critical for preventing future pandemics.
SAGO first published its findings in 2022. The updated report includes peer-reviewed literature, unpublished studies, field interviews, audit findings, and intelligence reports gathered through 52 separate meetings and stakeholder briefings.
In 2020, WHO Member States mandated the agency to study COVID-19’s origin. A joint China-international team visited Wuhan in early 2021, with a preliminary report published in March that year.
SAGO’s establishment in July 2021 included two key goals: creating a global investigative framework for new pathogens and applying it to COVID-19’s origin, both of which remain ongoing.
WHO reiterated its openness to any new evidence, stating that understanding the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is vital to global health security.