House of Representatives Votes to Declassify COVID-19 Origins

In an astounding 419 to 0 vote on Friday, March 10, 2023, the United States House of Representatives unanimously favored declassifying information on the origins of COVID-19. While the two sides of the aisle have been unable to agree wholeheartedly on anything since the start of the pandemic, both parties have advocated for the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023.

This act, sponsored by Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, was introduced and passed in the Senate on March 1, 2023. After passing in the House of Representatives, the act awaits presidential approval before it can become law. While the act was heavily supported, President Biden came forward on Friday, saying he is unsure whether he will approve it.

The act notes that the Director of National Intelligence should make information on the origins of COVID-19 publicly available, providing the general population, scientists, and others — globally and domestically — with extensive information on the illness and how to prevent similar infections.

Should President Biden sign off on the COVID-19 Origin Act, the Director of National Intelligence will be required to disclose any COVID-19 information within 90 days. The text in the bill specifies that the data should include information on activities in the Wuhan Institute of Virology, any coronavirus-related research at the institute before the pandemic, and detailed information on those infected in the fall of 2019.

The director is also expected to submit this information in an official, unclassified report to Congress, ensuring that all the information is included and only redacting information to protect sources and methods.

While the act’s wording is quick to point the finger at researchers in the Wuhan Institute of Virology, speculation by the US Department of Energy — revealed in February in an article by the Wall Street Journal — determined that the pandemic originated from a laboratory leak in China. Since then, few details have been revealed, prompting government officials to request transparency through this act.

This newest set of theories on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the SARS-CoV-2 virus contradicts data presented in Science earlier this year. The two articles in the journal concluded that the pandemic originated from the Hunan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, revealing that the earliest cases identified originated from around the market in December 2019.

Beyond determining the location, the Science studies determined that the spread of SARS-CoV-2 resulted from a zoonotic jump from live host animals at the market to humans. Considering the rising rates of zoonotic diseases associated with climate change, these conclusions seemed like a natural and acceptable finding.

However, as the researchers concluded in those studies, additional data needed to be collected for a definitive verdict. Congress and the House of Representatives hope that this act, if passed, will contextualize the start of the pandemic and the role of researchers, providing insight into how to prevent future pandemics effectively.