We refined the generic list of questions described in the mandate into a detailed workplan described in the mission report 1 (see also Annex A go./3k26jzx). Our mandate was to conduct a collaborative study with leading scientists in China to review data they had generated on the basis of initial questions from the WHO. These terms tasked us with making a detailed reconstruction of the early phase of the pandemic, beginning in Wuhan, China, where the first known cases were reported. So far, our mission has been guided by terms of reference agreed between the WHO and China in 2020, before our involvement 1. After the WHO had reviewed these, team members were appointed in their individual capacity, not as representatives of their employers. We, all the members of the international expert team, each submitted detailed, confidential statements to the WHO on potential conflicts of interest, including funding, collaborative studies, public statements and other issues around the origins of COVID-19 that could be perceived as conflicts. Understanding the origins of a devastating pandemic is a global priority, grounded in science. The window of opportunity for conducting this crucial inquiry is closing fast: any delay will render some of the studies biologically impossible. Here we summarize the scientific process so far, and call for action to fast-track the follow-up scientific work required to identify how COVID-19 emerged, which we set out in this article. It was meant to be the first step in a process that has stalled. We have been the designated independent international members of a joint WHO–China team tasked with understanding the origins of SARS-CoV-2. Our group was convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) in October 2020.
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