Evolution of a Theory: Unredacted NIH Email Show Efforts to Rule Out Lab Origin of COVID

Contact Your Elected Officials
The Intercept Header

As COVID-19 WAS spreading fear and spurring lockdowns across the United States in early 2020, the scientific journal Nature Medicine published a paper on March 17 titled “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2.” Written by five renowned academic scientists, it played an important early role in shaping the debate about a fiercely controversial topic: the origin of the virus that has killed millions since it emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. Did it spill from animals to humans in nature, on a farm, in a market? Or did it leak from a lab like the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a leading center of coronavirus research in China? Drawing on “comparative analysis of genomic data,” the paper’s authors wrote that “our analyses clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated construct.” Toward the end of the paper, they added, “we do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible” in explaining the origin of the virus. Instead, the scientists strongly favored a natural origin, arguing that the virus likely spilled from bats into humans, possibly by way of an intermediate animal host.

The peer-reviewed paper proved to be hugely influential. Dr. Francis Collins, then the director of the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, announced its findings in a post on the agency’s website in late March 2020. When asked during an April 17 press briefing at the White House about concerns that SARS-CoV-2 had come out of a lab in China, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who recently stepped down as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, referenced the paper, describing its conclusions and calling its authors “a group of highly qualified evolutionary virologists.” The paper has been accessed online more than 5.7 million times and has been cited by more than 2,000 media outlets. ABC News, for instance, ran an article on March 27 titled “Sorry, Conspiracy Theorists. Study Concludes Covid-19 ‘Is Not a Laboratory Construct.’” In that article, one of the paper’s authors, Robert Garry, is quoted saying, “There’s a lot of speculation and conspiracy theories that went to a pretty high level, so we felt it was important to get a team together to examine evidence of this new coronavirus to determine what we could about the origin.”

What that quote didn’t quite convey was that Garry and several of the paper’s other co-authors were themselves initially suspicious that SARS-CoV-2 may have emerged from a lab. They communicated their suspicions to Fauci, Collins, and others in late January and early February 2020, and what ensued was a period of intense and confidential deliberation about the origin of the virus.

Unredacted records obtained by The Nation and The Intercept offer detailed insights into those confidential deliberations. The documents show that in the early days of the pandemic, Fauci and Collins took part in a series of email exchanges and telephone calls in which several leading virologists expressed concern that SARS-CoV-2 looked potentially “engineered.” The participants also contemplated the possibility that laboratory activities had inadvertently led to the creation and release of the virus. The conversations convey a sense of anxious urgency and included speculation about the specific types of laboratory techniques that might have caused the virus’s emergence. After roughly a week of debate and data collection, one of the key figures involved in the deliberations characterized the focus of the group’s work as follows: “to disprove any type of lab theory.” Several of the scientists on the calls and emails then went on to write and publish “Proximal Origin.” It became one of the best-read papers in the history of science.

By Jimmy Tobias

Read Full Article on TheIntercept.com

The Thinking Conservative
The Thinking Conservativehttps://www.thethinkingconservative.com/
The goal of THE THINKING CONSERVATIVE is to help us educate ourselves on conservative topics of importance to our freedom and our pursuit of happiness. We do this by sharing conservative opinions on all kinds of subjects, from all types of people, and all kinds of media, in a way that will challenge our perceptions and help us to make educated choices.

Kirk Assassination Oddities

Just like the assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, PA, there are oddities that do not add up with the actual assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Pharma-Funded Medical Groups Threaten Anti-MAHA Physician Strike

“A paradoxical pattern has been suggested in the literature on doctors' strikes: when health workers go on strike, mortality stays level or decreases."

Fauci Caught DEAD TO RIGHTS in Anti-FOIA Conspiracy, Per Newly Released Emails

Fauci told Congress in 2024 he never pressured staff to delete emails, but evidence shows otherwise, raising perjury concerns and calls for indictment.

America is facing what could be described as “disorganized troubles,” born of a feeling of powerlessness.

The US is seeing a pattern of consistent, politically motivated lone-wolf attacks, evident in events like the murder of Charlie Kirk on a campus in Utah.

A Bullet Is No Argument

Charlie Kirk’s sharp intellect and joyful debate style dismantled challengers’ arguments, making him a target for those opposed to truth and goodness.

Ford and GM Scale Down Electric Vehicle Investments Amid Policy Shifts

In the face of weak sales and a sweeping reversal in federal policies, major American automakers Ford and GM are changing their plans for electric vehicles.

US Official Warns Of New Deadly Synthetic Opioid From China

U.S. authorities are warning of a new synthetic opioid from China that can be up to 50 times more potent than fentanyl.

‘I Will Never Let Your Legacy Die’: Charlie Kirk’s Widow Gives First Public Address After Assassination

Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk, made her first public appearance and shared her heart after her husband was brutally assassinated in front of the world.

What to Know About Charlie Kirk’s Suspected Assassin

Suspected shooter in assassination of Charlie Kirk has been arrested, Gov. Cox announced. He is a 22-year-old Utah resident named Tyler James Robinson.

Trump Signs Memo Targeting Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising

President Trump signed a memo to ensure drug ads give fair, balanced, and complete information to protect and inform American consumers.

Trump Runs out of Patience With China, Sharpens His Words

President Donald Trump’s recent remarks targeting China and its allies mark a noticeable shift in tone.

Trump Signs Order Renaming Department of Defense as Department of War

President Donald Trump on Sept. 5 signed an executive order renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War.

Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting Countries That Unlawfully Detain Americans

President Trump signed an EO on targeting the unlawful detention of American citizens around the world and to facilitate the release of hostages.
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

MAGA Business Central