© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

WHO's new team will investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:

It's the big question of this pandemic - where did this virus come from? Did it spill over from bats? Did it make the jump to humans at an exotic meat market? Was it the result of a laboratory incident? Nearly two years after the first COVID case was identified, the origin of the virus remains a controversial and unanswered question. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports the World Health Organization is assembling a new team to try to answer just that.

JASON BEAUBIEN, BYLINE: The WHO has named 26 scientists from around the world to sit in on what it's calling the Scientific Advisory Group on the Origins of Novel Pathogens, or SAGO for short. The panel is being given a broad mandate to investigate any and all future outbreaks of unknown origin. But it is also charged specifically with looking at the roots of SARS-CoV-2. China has been desperate to deflect criticism that it was slow to identify the new coronavirus. An earlier WHO team was stonewalled by Chinese officials and, in the end, failed to provide a definitive answer for where SARS-CoV-2 came from.

The WHO's head of emergencies, Mike Ryan, says this new advisory group will likely face some of the same geopolitical challenges that have stymied other investigations.

MIKE RYAN: This has never been an easy process in many countries. We've had difficulties in the past in a number of countries because there are real issues. There are sensitivities. There are economic issues. There are national pride issues. There are sovereignty issues. And you can't ignore that they exist.

BEAUBIEN: The structure of this panel, which nominally looks at all new pathogens and not just COVID, appears to be an attempt to defuse some of those concerns and sensitivities of China. COVID has now killed nearly five million people worldwide, crippled the global economy. And Ryan says, in order to prevent future pandemics, we need to understand the origins of this one.

RYAN: Right now, this is our best chance. And it may be our last chance to understand the origins of this virus in a collegiate, collective and mutually responsible way. And I can't overstate that this is an opportunity, but it is also a challenge.

BEAUBIEN: The WHO's Maria Van Kerkhove says the world has no time to waste in examining what happened in 2019 in the very early days of the pandemic. She expects some of that work will involve trips to China.

MARIA VAN KERKHOVE: I anticipate that the SAGO, in its discussions about the urgent next steps for understanding the origins of the current pandemic, will recommend further studies in China and potentially elsewhere.

BEAUBIEN: China can veto any visit from researchers sent by SAGO. But Van Kerkhove says she's optimistic that China will cooperate with the group of the 26 scientists on the new advisory panel. Each member is from a different country, and one is a deputy director at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Jason Beaubien, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Jason Beaubien is NPR's Global Health and Development Correspondent on the Science Desk.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content