An outbreak of the Delta variant in Vietnam, where the COVID-19 vaccination rate is low, is causing factories to close (WSJ) and slowing global supplies of products such as shoes and apparel. More than eighty companies wrote a letter to President Biden calling for the acceleration of vaccine deliveries to Vietnam.
China: A group of scientists convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) to study COVID-19’s origin wrote in Nature that their research has stalled and time is running out to solve the mystery due to the waning nature of virus antibodies. The team conducted investigations in Wuhan, China, earlier this year and concluded that further research is required. On Tuesday, a U.S. intelligence review of the virus’s origins came back inconclusive (WaPo).
This Backgrounder examines whether the world will ever solve the mystery of COVID-19’s origin.