The United States Senate has produced a report suggesting that in all likelihood SARS-CoV-2 was unleashed on the world bu an accidental lab leak in Wuhan:
That should raise the temperature.
Their arguments are that
- Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak Differs from Previous Natural Zoonotic Spillovers
- Missing Evidence of a Natural Zoonotic Spillover
- Problems with the Natural Zoonotic Hypothesis
namely
- The intermediate host species for SARS-CoV-2, if one exists, remains unidentified
- Unlike SARS, the genomes of early COVID-19 cases from the first months of the pandemic do not
show genetic evidence of SARS-CoV-2 having circulated in another animal species other than
humans - SARS-CoV-2’s high binding affinity for human ACE2 receptors suggests that it is possible for it
to directly infect humans without needing a period of adaptation in an intermediate host - Based on the available evidence, Wuhan is the only location where SARS-CoV-2 spilled over into
humans - The low genetic diversity of the earliest SARS-CoV-2 samples suggests that the COVID-19
pandemic is most likely the result of a single successful spillover of SARS-CoV-2
My own view is that we will never know for certain without greater cooperation from the Chinese government than has been the case to date and unless something changes that is unlikely to be forthcoming.
One way of changing things would be to allow civil cases against the Chinese government to proceed based on this report.
Related:
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/fearing-covid-workers-flee-foxconns-vast-chinese-iphone-plant-2022-10-31/
Fleeing from Covid?
Or the response of the CCP?
The truth is probably not known by anyone still among the living in Communist China.
If you were a Chinese researcher, would you tell him?
I continue to favor the natural origin hypothesis for covid-19.
However, Ron Unz at the Unz Review argues that the actual source is USAMRIID at Ft. Detrick, MD, and that it was planted in Wuhan during the 2019 International Military Games by US servicemen. He also notes that there were both swine flu and chicken flu epidemics in China in 2017 and 2018 that destroyed a substantial part of China’s food supply.
Is Unz’ theory credible? Is it better than the claimed escape from the Wuhan virus research center? If you are going to investigate one, you had better also investigate the other.
The CDC was providing funding for research at the Wuhan lab. The US was also funding most of the Soviet biowarfare labs that were orphaned when the Soviet Union collapsed. That’s a couple dozen labs across Eurasia.
Are the people who run the US so stupid that they did not think a virus planted in Wuhan would spread worldwide.
Most certainly, Yes.
PS. In 1969, Nixon announced that the US would no longer use chemical or biological weapons. Much of the original US stockpile is still sitting in warehouses near Denver awaiting destruction over 50 years later.
PPS. The Geneva Convention of 1925 outlawed chemical weapons.
Meh. A number of those reasons boil down to the same thing ie they haven’t found the original host, if it exists. Yet we know from prior examples it can can take well over a decade to find the origins. IIRC it was over 15 years for HIV. Also, i am not sure why that last one makes it more or less likely a lab leak. One bat in the wet market vs one researcher spreading would be a lot different?
Either way, China still bears a lot fo blame. Its not as if the wet market theory should above them. It was and is a problem waiting to happen.
Steve
Query- It says it was done by the Minority Oversight Staff. What does that mean? The opening statement is from Richard Burr when Patty Murray is the actual chair. Why would the chair not be making the statement?
Steve
I don’t think this changes anything – there is still no proof one way or another, nor is there proof that would eliminate one source or another from contention.
In a civil suit you do not need incontrovertible proof. Only the preponderance of the evidence. Not only do I think this meets that standard more importantly I strongly suspect trial lawyers will be able to find judges who think so, too.
My understanding is that trial lawyers get paid based on collections from settlements or winning cases. The chance for them to collect anything from China seems remote, so I’m skeptical many will line up to attempt this.