I recently reviewed the report published by the Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the origins of the SARS-Cov-2 pathogen and the point source of the pandemic. It was pretty damning for the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). The committee members assert that decisions made by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) contributed directly to the conditions leading to the pandemic.
I will use the 84-page appendix to the report to highlight what we likely know with a reasonable degree of certainty how the pandemic started. I will project what might happen next based on the current evidence. The information below comes from the timeline from the additional report.
2003: China Covers-Up Role in SARS Outbreak
The 2002–2004 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), was reported to have infected over 8,000 people from 29 different countries and territories and resulted in at least 774 deaths worldwide. The outbreak was first identified in Foshan, Guangdong, China, in November 2002, and the Chinese were aggressive in hiding their role in the explosion of a highly virulent coronavirus.
The accusations of a government cover-up came in a statement by Dr Jiang Yanyong, retired chief of surgery at a Beijing military hospital. He said that doctors and nurses at two other military-run institutions told him at least seven deaths have occurred in their hospitals and claimed there were 106 cases of the disease in Beijing – more than five times the figured announced by authorities.
2012: Coal Miners Die from SARS-like Illness
I noted that six miners working in a copper mine located in a cave in Yunnan fell ill, and three of the infected men died. Chinese scientists went to those caves to collect samples from 2015-2017.
2015-2019: Isolation of Coronavirus and Bioengineering Experiments Proceed
2015 – 2017: Shi Zheng-li (“Bat Lady” researcher leading the studies of bat viruses), Peter Daszak (head of the NIH grant-getting the New York-based EcoHealth Alliance), and a team of scientists isolate novel coronaviruses, conduct gain-on-function research, and test novel and genetically manipulated coronaviruses against mice and other animals expressing human immune systems.
Summer 2019: Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) Asks for Bids on Waste Treatment System, Air Conditioning System, and Sample Storage Unit
In 2003 (clearly, in the wake of SARS), the Chinese Academy of Sciences approved the construction of mainland China’s first Biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory (high-containment facility) at the WIV. The WIV’s National Bio-safety Laboratory structure was completed with the French government’s CIRI lab at the end of 2014. The French sounded alarms about construction short-change, and despite the promise, it was supposed to be a “joint use” facility, the lone French researcher there is about to conclude his work. It is essential to highlight that the series of pervasive biosafety-related projects are being done on a unit that is five years old at the time.
September 12, 2019: Sample Databases Taken Offline, and the COVID Cover-up Officially Begins
At 12:00am local time, Wuhan University announced lab inspections. Between 2:00 am and 3:00 am, the WIV’s viral sequence and sample database went offline. At 7:09 pm, the WIV published a tender requesting bids to provide security services at the biosafety level 4 facility. These actions happened after researchers became infected, took the Wuan Metro system from the nearby station back home, and spread the disease around the city.
September – October 2019: Car Traffic Around Hospital Starts Surging
Around the time the WIV’s virus database went offline, car traffic at hospitals in downtown Wuhan surged. The symptoms included coughing and diarrhea.
October 2019: World Military Games Held in Wuhan
The 7th International Military Sports Council Military World Games (MWGs) opened in Wuhan on October 18, 2019. The MWGs in Wuhan drew 9,308 athletes, representing 109 countries, to compete in 329 events across 27 sports. Many of the participating athletes fell ill with various flu-like complaints. Here is a glimpse of the sick athletes and their location in the hospitals…now seeing ill patients.
Evidence from Brazil, Italy, France, and Sweden indicate that the virus circulated in those countries by November and December of 2019, long before China officially admitted they had a significant public health problem. This was likely the global “super-spreader event.” China tried to blame Italy for the virus at one point.
December 31, 2019: WHO Officials Learn of Wuhan Outbreak
According to Dr. Michael Ryan, the Executive Director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, posts on ProMed are the first hints that WHO had about the outbreak. On the same day, we had a request from health authorities in Taiwan. The message referred to news sources indicating at least seven atypical pneumonia cases reported in Wuhan media.
January 10, 2020: Legal Insurrection Posts about Wuhan Outbreak
The reports described it as a “pneumonia-like” illness and denied human-to-human transmission. The rest, shall we say, is history, and we have been following the COVID19 news closely since early 2020.
What is the Future?
Reviewing the information above, I will project that:
In terms of what will happen with the SARS-Cov-2 pathogen that we are now battling, I think that the “Russian Flu” epidemic of 1889 provides some clues. This is the first coronavirus pandemic that has been identified.
The history of that event indicates that the world will experience cycles of infections for the next several years. Only when enough immunity is developed and less potent but more infectious variants arise will the current virus strain join the other coronaviruses causing common colds. It is unlikely we will immunize, mask, or social-distance ourselves from the cyclic process.
I am sorry my projections can’t be more positive. At least now, I think we all have a better grasp of the circumstances, and perhaps we can persuade our officials to make better choices on the issues related to China and the coronavirus.
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