Was the Wuhan Lab the Source?

The idea that the novel coronavirus may have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology has been around for a while. WIV is located within blocks of the market where the Chinese Communist Party says the bat-borne virus jumped to humans–a remarkable coincidence if there is no connection. Establishment scientists long denounced questions about the Wuhan lab, raised by Senator Tom Cotton and others, as a “conspiracy theory,” which increasingly means a hypothesis or set of facts that the Democratic Party would rather suppress.

It is often interesting to see how such news stories are covered outside of the U.S., where the news is hyper-partisan. Tomorrow’s London Times has two stories, this one headlined: “Wuhan: the questions China won’t answer about how Covid pandemic started.”

[G]reater awareness of the WIV’s research into bat viruses — including one almost identical to the pandemic’s Sars-Covid-2 — has reawakened attention to the possibility that there was an accidental leak from the laboratory.

At the same time, China’s own efforts to show proof of another source for the virus have failed, and its increasingly shrill denials about the WIV have helped to boost suspicions that it is trying to cover up a laboratory leak.

“China’s ongoing cover-up since day one is only adding fuel to the fire,” said Jamie Metzl, adviser to the World Health Organisation (WHO) on human genome editing and a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council think tank. “Since the earliest days following the outbreak China has destroyed samples, hidden records, imprisoned citizen journalists.”

People who hide something often have something to hide.

Adding to suspicions about a possible virus leak are concerns about security at the Wuhan laboratory. After a visit in January 2018, American officials reported their concerns to Washington in diplomatic cables that were then leaked to The Washington Post.

They warned that the WIV lacked the technicians needed to operate the facility securely. They also warned that this could result in a leak of bat virus with the potential to cause a pandemic.

The Times notes that one problem at WIV was that it was run by CCP commissars who knew little about science–a common problem in Communist countries.

Peter Daszak, the alleged scientist who took the lead in denouncing speculation about the role of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, turned out to have an enormous conflict of interest. This is a scandal for which, as far as I know, no price has been paid:

[Peter] Daszak, a British zoologist, was a prominent member of the WHO mission that concluded a leak from the Wuhan laboratory was extremely unlikely. He has publicly criticised as “pure baloney” the lab-leak theory in the press and has attacked it in The Lancet, the scientific journal, where he chairs a commission that considers theories on the origins of Covid-19.

The Lancet, to which I subscribe, is a venerable publication that has been taken over by the Left. It now consists, approximately 50/50, of articles on medical science and articles that peddle “wokism.” On any topic of current interest, you can assume that whatever the Lancet prints will turn out to be wrong.

He is also, however, president of EcoHealth Alliance, a US-based non-profit organisation that has collaborated with and funded the [Wuhan] laboratory.

“Daszak has a monumental conflict of interest,” said Metzl. “That he is a member of this international team and The Lancet commission is outrageous.”

True, but it is not at all surprising that institutions like WHO and the Lancet would dishonestly promote a pro-Chinese, anti-science line. For the Left, politics is always paramount. More:

Daszak has worked closely with [Shi Zhengli, a bat researcher at WIV]. In 2015 the pair published a paper in the Journal of Virology on research they had conducted at the WIV into “bat Sars-like coronavirus”. The research took place in a biosafety level-two laboratory, which requires only basic protection with lab coats and gloves. It was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the United States.

Two senior Republican congressmen, James Comer, of the congressional committee on oversight and reform, which is investigating the pandemic’s origin, and Jim Jordan, have begun an inquiry into taxpayer-funded grants issued by the NIH to EcoHealth Alliance, $600,000 of which they claim EcoHealth awarded to the WIV. In a letter addressed to Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, on May 28, they write: “If US taxpayer money was used to develop Covid-19, conduct gain-of-function research, or assist in any sort of cover-up, EcoHealth must be held accountable.”

That won’t happen, obviously, as long as the Democrats remain in control of the House. But things could change in January 2023.

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