Virtual Event | The Origins of COVID-19: Policy Implications and Lessons for the Future

March 2021

Past Event

Virtual Event | The Origins of COVID-19: Policy Implications and Lessons for the Future

Past Event

Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters

March 12, 2021

March 2021

Past Event

1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20004

Read Transcript

Speakers:

Chris Isham

American journalist & Former Chief of CBS News' Washington Bureau

Jamie Metzl

Founder and Chair, OneShared.World & Author of Hacking Darwin

Andy Weber

Senior Fellow, Council on Strategic Risks

Hudson Institute Senior Fellows David Asher and Miles Yu and expert panelists discuss the origins of COVID-19, policy implications and lessons for the future.

One year after the WHO declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic, the exact origins of this devastating virus remains unclear. Although almost all established experts conclude that China was the locus of the initial major outbreak, important questions remain regarding exactly where, how and why the virus spread. What is beyond reasonable doubt is that China took myriad actions that served to obfuscate, confuse, and even deceive the world, and continues to stymie efforts to understand the timeline of the pandemic.

This panel discussed questions around the origins of COVID-19, and considered possible U.S. policy responses to the Chinese government's refusal to cooperate with investigations on this matter. Panelists also addressed lessons from the past year for preventing future pandemics and other biological threats.

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