In those crucial days in mid-December last year — when the first cases of the novel coronavirus began appearing in Wuhan, China — the protocol followed by the hospital authorities required
them to immediately report the matter to the local Communist Party bureau while keeping the information in the strictest confidence.
The first impulse of the local Party officials had been to sit on the information, fearful of incurring the ire of their superiors should the reports turn out to be premature. It took about two more weeks before the Chinese government would officially confirm the outbreak in Wuhan. On Jan. 1, the authorities shut down the Wuhan live animal market, where the virus was believed to have originated. A few days later, they imposed a lockdown on the whole city.
The point being made here is quite simple: In the modern world we live in, disease outbreaks anywhere belong, in the first instance, to medical science and to the world body that has been designated to monitor and prevent such outbreaks from becoming a pandemic. It is in these specialized communities where these issues must be studied, openly discussed, and debated — free from the distortions of political, economic, and other interests.
One can thus imagine the kind of pressure that is applied on the scientists and specialists who are involved in this complex undertaking. They must work fast so the benefits from the vaccine can immediately be shared with countries eager to reopen their economies. But, they must tread very carefully, lest they reap the costly consequences of releasing a harmful product.