As one of his first presidencies, Joe Biden joined the World Health Organization. But a recent comment by a WHO official on the origins of the new coronavirus calls into question the decision.
Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergency program, told a news conference last week that it was “too early” to say the coronavirus originated in China.
“I think we need to say this quite clearly; all the hypotheses are on the table and it is certainly too early to reach an exact conclusion of where this virus started, either in China or without China, ”he said.
Ryan was responding to an NBC reporter who asked about China’s denials that the virus originated in Wuhan or elsewhere in the country.
“Let’s take a step back, follow the evidence, follow science. Our team is on the field, has a good experience working with our Chinese colleagues. We work through data. The data will lead us to the next phase, where we need to move on to analyze the origins of this virus, “said Ryan.
However, in November, Ryan said it would be “very speculative for us to say that the disease did not occur in China.”
A few days after Biden signed an executive order to join America in @WHICH, WHO tells NBC that it is “too early” to say that Covid has its origins in China pic.twitter.com/Kcn0uEkt9q
– Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 26, 2021
Former President Trump has decided to officially withdraw the United States from the global health organization, accusing the world body of being in China’s pocket.
“The world is now suffering from the evil of the Chinese government,” Trump said, adding that China has pressured the WHO to “mislead the world” about COVID-19. “China has full control over the World Health Organization,” he added, a statement the WHO rejected.