US House of Representatives voted unanimously on Friday to declassify the information from US intelligence on the origins of COVID-19. This is happening on the third anniversary of the beginning of the pandemic, AP reported.
The vote ended with 419 votes in favor and none against. For the final approval and The bill now needs President Joe Biden’s signature to take effect.
The debate before the vote was short and to the point: Americans have questions about how it all started and what can be done to prevent future pandemics.
“The American public deserves answers to every aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Republican Congressman Michael Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. That includes, he said, “how this virus was created and specifically whether it was a natural event or the result of a lab-related event.”
The declassification order focused on intelligence related to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, citing “potential links” between research done there and the outbreak of COVID-19, which the World Health Organization declared a pandemic in March 2020.
In the US, there is still no consensus on the origin of the coronavirus
However, according to the Department of Energy, the virus likely leaked from a laboratory in China
American intelligence agencies are divided on whether leakage from a laboratory or spread by animals is the likely source of the deadly virus.
Experts say the true origins of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 1 million Americans, may not be known for many years.
“Transparency is a cornerstone of our democracy, Democratic Congressman Jim Himes insisted during the debate.”
Led by Republicans, the focus on the origin of the virus comes when the House of Representatives kicked off a select committee hearing earlier in the week, delving into theories about how the pandemic started.
This is a rare moment of bipartisan agreement despite the often heated rhetoric about the origins of the coronavirus and questions about the response to the virus by US health officials, including former top health adviser Anthony Fauci.
The legislation by Republican Sen. Josh Hawley it was already approved by the Senate.
If it enters into force, the measure would require within 90 days the declassification of “any information related to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the coronavirus disease.”
This includes information about research and other activities in the laboratory and whether any researcher became ill.
