United States: House votes to make origins of COVID-19 public

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States House of Representatives voted unanimously Friday to release intelligence information about the origins of COVID-19, in a show of bipartisan support on the eve of the third anniversary of the start of the deadly pandemic. .

The project approved by 419 votes in favor and none against now goes to the signature of President Joe Biden.

The discussion was short and to the point: Americans want to know how the virus started and what can be done to prevent future outbreaks.

“The American people deserve answers to all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Republican lawmaker Michael Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

This includes, he added, “how this virus was created, and specifically whether it was a natural event or the product of a lab-related event.”

The release order focused on information related to the Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, and possible links between research conducted there and the COVID-19 outbreak that the World Organization of Health declared a pandemic in March 2020.

US intelligence agencies disagree on whether the likely source of the virus is a lab leak or animal origin.

Experts say the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly 7 million people worldwide, including more than a million in the United States, may not be known for years, if ever.

“Transparency is the cornerstone of our democracy,” Rep. Jim Himes, the most Democratic on the intelligence committee, said during the debate. “Because without transparency, Americans cannot make the sounds they are responsible for making as citizens of a democracy.”

The bill prepared by Republican Senator Josh Hawley has already been approved by the Senate.

If enacted, the law would require “all information relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the coronavirus disease” to be made public within 90 days.

This includes information about research and other activities in the laboratory and whether any researchers have become ill.