Five years after the emergence of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, the virus's origins remain unclear. While the most likely scenario involves animal-to-human transmission at a market, the possibility of a lab leak continues to be debated. Scientific investigation has been hampered by political tensions and claims of evidence withholding by China.
A medical worker takes a swab sample from a worker of the China Star Optoelectronics Technology company during a round of COVID-19 tests in Wuhan in central China 's Hubei province, Aug. 5, 2021.
That’s a known pathway for disease transmission and likely triggered the first epidemic of a similar virus, known as SARS. But this theory has not been proven for the virus that causes COVID-19. Wuhan is home to several research labs involved in collecting and studying coronaviruses, fueling debate over whether the virus instead may have leaked from one.
“We cannot talk about COVID in the past, since it’s still with us,” WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.Scientists and vaccine-makers broke speed records developing COVID-19 vaccines that have saved tens of millions of lives worldwide – and were the critical step to getting life back to normal.
Like flu vaccines, COVID-19 shots must be updated regularly to match the ever-evolving virus — contributing to public frustration at the need for repeated vaccinations. Efforts to develop next-generation vaccines are underway, such as nasal vaccines that researchers hope might do a better job of blocking infection.Genetic changes called mutations happen as viruses make copies of themselves. And this virus has proven to be no different.
COVID-19 Pandemic Origins Wuhan China
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