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

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.