We spoke to global health experts in the U.S., Canada and Switzerland and examined the public record to fact-check the assertions in President Trump's letter to the World Health Organization.
sent to WHO on Dec. 31:"News resources today indicate that at least seven atypical pneumonia cases were reported in Wuhan, CHINA. Their health authorities replied to the media that the cases were believed not SARS; however, the samples are still under examination, and cases have been isolated for treatment.
I would greatly appreciate it if you have relevant information to share with us. Thank you very much in advance for your attention to this matter."from Taiwan made no direct references to human-to-human transmission and simply requested clarification on reports Taiwan's health officials were seeing about a pneumonia cluster from China. "On January 28, 2020, after meeting with President Xi [Jinping] in Beijing, [Tedros] praised the Chinese government for its 'transparency' with respect to the coronavirus, announcing that China had set a 'new standard for outbreak control' and 'bought the world time.' You did not mention that China had, by then, silenced or punished several doctors for speaking out about the virus and restricted Chinese institutions from publishing information about it." The World Health Organization did praise China at that point."The United States was equally praising China at the time," Georgetown Law's Gostin pointed out., Trump tweeted:"China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!" "The only way forward for the World Health Organization is if it can actually demonstrate independence from China. My Administration has already started discussions with you on how to reform the organization. But action is needed quickly." This demand comes with no specifics, global health observers said."What exactly does the Trump administration want WHO to do?" Simon Fraser's Lee asked. It's not clear what"action" the U.S. is asking for, or how WHO could demonstrate"independence from China," because no solutions are outlined in the letter. As for the threat of U.S. withdrawal, Gostin said he thinks the U.S. is unlikely to follow through with leaving WHO, because he does not believe Congress would approve such a move. Still, Trump's threats are already causing substantial damage to the global agency tasked with coordinating the world's response to the pandemic, said, associate professor of global health policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "For the United States to blame the World Health Organization for its own months and months and months of inaction seems factually untrue and designed to divide the world at a moment when global solidarity is needed most," Meier said."It undercuts the World Health Organization's efforts to provide a collective response to this common threat [of the COVID-19 pandemic]."
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