China's Delayed COVID-19 Data Disclosure Cost 3 Years of Political Dispute.

The release and analysis of viral and animal genetic material collected from the Huanan wet market in Wuhan, China, has revealed stronger evidence that raccoon dogs at the market were a possible animal reservoir of SARS-CoV-2, potentially infecting humans. If this evidence had been available three years ago, it could have reduced the political argy-bargy about less likely hypotheses of the pandemic's origins and better focused research attention. The delay in disclosing the data has made it difficult to track the animal sources and people who handled these animals, but open disclosure of sequence data is crucial for scientific investigation.