While WHO publicly praised Beijing, officials complained internally about a lack of transparency
06/07/2020 // Cassie B. // Views

A new report by The Associated Press shows that as the World Health Organization praised China publicly for its handling of the coronavirus crisis, it was a far different story behind the scenes, with officials frustrated by a dangerous lack of information.

Recordings of internal meetings that were obtained by The Associated Press showed that officials with the World Health Organization complained in meetings in early January that Beijing was not sharing the data they needed to help determine how the virus was spreading and the risk it posed to the rest of the world.

The UN agency does not have enforcement powers and is unable to investigate epidemics independently within countries. However, international law does oblige countries to report any information that could impact public health to the organization.

Beijing had initially insisted that there was little to no risk of transmitting the virus from person to person; it wasn’t until January 20 that they confirmed the virus was contagious. And although a state lab had documented the virus’s full genome by January 2, that sequence wasn’t shared with the WHO until January 12.

Exasperated WHO officials were clearly frustrated with the lack of communication, with the agency’s top official in China, Dr. Gauden Galea, saying that they were at a point where China was giving them information just minutes before it appeared on the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

“We have informally and formally been requesting more epidemiological information,” he said. “But when asked for specifics, we could get nothing.”

Brighteon.TV

WHO Technical Lead for COVID-19, epidemiologist Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, said that they were working with “very minimal information,” adding: “It’s clearly not enough for you to do proper planning.”

By the second week of January, recordings show that WHO Chief of Emergencies Dr. Michael Ryan worried there would be a repeat of the SARS outbreak that started in China in 2002; authorities also covered that outbreak up in its early days.

AP reports that Dr. Ryan said this was the same scenario. “WHO barely got out of that one with its neck intact, given the issues that arose around transparency in southern China,” he stated. He also criticized China’s lack of cooperation, saying that this wouldn’t happen in Congo and other places.

This stalling was a significant setback at a time when the outbreak could have been slowed dramatically if officials had more information at their disposal.

Outwardly, however, the WHO praised China for its quick response to the virus, describing the country’s efforts as “very impressive” and thanking them for sharing the virus’s genetic map “immediately."

At the same time, WHO staffers discussed how to convince China to share detailed patient data and gene sequences without upsetting them, fearing they would lose access or potentially get Chinese scientists in trouble.

The world is angry at how China handled the outbreak

The agency has been heavily criticized for colluding with China in recent weeks, and they’ve agreed to an independent probe of the way the pandemic was handled.

Last month, President Trump announced that the U.S. would be withdrawing from the WHO because of the role it played in helping the Chinese government cover up the outbreak. He accused the agency of being overly influenced by China and asked why they waited until January 30 to declare it a public health emergency.

It’s a big hit for the organization as the U.S. is its biggest donor, contributing around $450 million per year.

University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Professor Ali Mokdad told the AP: “It’s obvious that we could have saved more lives and avoided many, many deaths if China and the WHO had acted faster.”

The coronavirus pandemic has now killed more than 380,000 people around the world. How many of those lives could have been saved if China had been more forthcoming?

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

APNews.com



Take Action:
Support Natural News by linking to this article from your website.
Permalink to this article:
Copy
Embed article link:
Copy
Reprinting this article:
Non-commercial use is permitted with credit to NaturalNews.com (including a clickable link).
Please contact us for more information.
Free Email Alerts
Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.
App Store
Android App
eTrust Pro Certified

This site is part of the Natural News Network © 2022 All Rights Reserved. Privacy | Terms All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing International, LTD. is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

This site uses cookies
Natural News uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy.
Learn More
Close
Get 100% real, uncensored news delivered straight to your inbox
You can unsubscribe at any time. Your email privacy is completely protected.