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Call to action: “””
We welcome calls for scientifically rigorous investigations.10, 11 To accomplish this, we encourage WHO and scientific partners across the world to expeditiously move to continue and further extend their initial investigation with experts in China and the Chinese Government. WHO's report from March, 2021,12 must be considered the beginning rather than the end of an inquiry, and we strongly support the G7 leaders' call for “a timely, transparent, expert-led, and science-based WHO-convened phase 2 COVID-19 origins study”.13 We also understand that it might take years of field and laboratory study to assemble and link the data essential to reach rational and objective conclusions, but that is what the global scientific community must strive to do
“”” They also call to move beyond rhetoric with a goal of ending this pandemic and enacting systemic change to sense and halt the next one. “””
Having robust surveillance and detection systems in place across the globe is essential to detect and report new or evolving pathogens that can potentially unleash the next local or global threat, as required by the International Health Regulations. Equally essential will be ensuring that the field workforce, laboratory facilities, and the health-care community can all work under the safest conditions. Until this pandemic ends, we ask, as we did in February, 2020,1 for solidarity and rigorous scientific data. “”” |