Covid-19 Pandemic
Criticism unethical, biased
Says China as West, WHO chief doubt Covid origin report
France mulls lockdown as Europe reels from surges
Pfizer vaccine safe, 100pc effective on adolescents in trial
China yesterday slammed "unethical" critics as it faced mounting pressure over origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, after the World Health Organization chief revived the theory that the coronavirus may have leaked from a Chinese lab.
WHO-backed experts had judged it "extremely unlikely" that the virus was leaked from a Chinese lab after a politically sensitive mission to the ground-zero city of Wuhan, but the WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed Tuesday that "all hypotheses are open" and "warrant complete and further studies".
The United States also led a chorus of concern over the findings, with China riled by swirling accusations that it failed to give proper access and data to the investigators.
"This practice of politicising the search for the origins of the virus is extremely unethical," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a press briefing, stressing that full access was granted to the Wuhan lab.
China was slammed last year by former US president Donald Trump, who had promoted the theory that the virus could have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and accused Beijing of not being transparent about the initial outbreak.
As governments bicker and point fingers over its origins, the virus has spiked again in many parts of the world, including Europe, where French President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation to respond to criticism that he has let Covid-19 run out of control. A nationwide lockdown is on the cards, sources said.
The known global Covid-19 death toll has exceeded 2.8 million, and the virus has gained fresh, devastating momentum in many countries. A host of European countries have already imposed curbs on movements and restricted borders facing new surges.
Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE yesterday said their Covid-19 vaccine was safe and effective and produced robust antibody responses in 12- to 15-year olds, paving the way for school reopening.
In the trial of 2,260 adolescents aged 12 to 15, there were 18 cases of Covid-19 in the group that got a placebo shot and none in the group that got the vaccine, resulting in 100% efficacy in preventing Covid-19, the companies said in a statement.