New Senate Report: Covid Pandemic Likely Caused by Wuhan Lab Leak
Leak occurred earlier than first suspected, and there may have been two separate leak incidents.
A new report prepared about the possible origin of the novel coronavirus causing the covid pandemic was recently released, summarizing key findings from the investigation by the Republican leadership of the US Senate health committee.
The report, released in full by Axios, says: “The Covid-19 pandemic was, more likely than not, the result of a research-related incident.”
- It argues that scientists haven’t found any naturally occurring viruses with the same composition of the coronavirus, and that there’s evidence the virus was circulating in Wuhan before the first known cases connected to the wet market were reported.
- It also argues that it appears Chinese researchers began development of at least two COVID vaccines in November 2019, including at the WIV, which “means SARS-CoV-2 would have been present at the WIV before the known outbreak of the pandemic.”
- It also documents numerous instances of lab safety concerns throughout 2019, including around the time when the virus may have first appeared.
As I have noted previously, the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) has long been known to have poor biosafety conditions and risky sample-handling procedures, which normally require enhanced containment measures. The report aligns with that assessment and indicates there may have been multiple leak incidents.
The document says an initial leak may have occurred “sometime before September 2019” and began circulating in Wuhan. Then, once WIV and Chinese government authorities realized what had happened, officials scrambled to quickly and quietly develop a vaccine that could be deployed to contain the outbreak — all before the world could learn the truth, according to the authors.
That rush to develop a vaccine may have led to a second accidental lab leak — one which, in turn, would lead to the global pandemic, the investigators believe.
No definitive conclusion has yet been reached on the origins of COVID but the intelligence and scientific communities remain split on whether the most likely scenario is a natural spillover or an accidental lab leak.
I’m so old that I remember when the lab leak theory was dismissed as “misinformation,” and accounts were suspended or throttled when they asserted otherwise.
The Marshall report adds momentum to the lab leak theory, which the political left initially discredited as disinformation. The theory has been bolstered by evidence that some workers at the Wuhan lab were hospitalized for flulike illness before the coronavirus spread across the city.
Dr. Robert Redfield, a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others said the virus had properties not found in other coronaviruses, adding to the likelihood that it was engineered.
John L. Ratcliffe, who served as director of national intelligence during the first year of the pandemic, said Tuesday that the intelligence community should be more aggressive with its conclusion.
He told Congress that the bank of evidence indicating a spillover from nature is “nearly empty and tenuous.” For instance, no one has been able to confirm a reservoir species or animal through which the virus jumped to humans.
If there is any “fact” originally labeled as “undisputed science” that remains true after the full history of covid is finally written, it will be purely coincidental.
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In other news, water has been discovered to be wet.
The lie was only maintained as long as it was useful. Now, more is gained by pretending to be swayed by the only recent and studied accumulation of evidence. As usual, the admission is made in an atmosphere of an apathetic public whose attention is directed toward the next shiny object.
I demand reparations from the government and MSM for all their damnable Covid lies.
A justifiable demand.
For shits and giggles, the following is excerpted from the Arizona Constitution, Article II, Declaration of Rights:
The unconstitutional “state of emergency” declared during COVID violated every one of the cited rights.
We are perfectly within our rights to demand reparations.
Lying about the lab leak was always something that puzzled me.
Had they gone with “COVID is a Chinese bioweapon that got loose” they would have maximized fear and I would imagine that people would have complied much more readily with lockdowns and getting the jab.
Too many politicians on the Chinese payroll, and too many dirty hands on bioengineering a virus despite Congress forbidding their development.
The Bad Orange Man said it came from Chy-nah (Raaaaaaa-cist!), so that couldn’t be allowed to be right. That’s the same Bad Orange Man who pointed out various inconvenient things about our dependence on Chy-nah (Raaaaaaaa-cist, again.) But, let it ride. What could possibly go wrong?
BTW, how’s that supply chain been working, last couple years? Just askin.
Many people and organizations both public and private have a great deal to answer for re Covid and the response. Everyone who enabled the economic shutdown, drove small businesses under, jacked up the supply chain, shut down religious services/funerals, caused spikes in deaths due to delayed treatment or diagnosis, encouraged or ordered masks and made the jab mandatory must be held accountable. No one who had a role in these foolish decisions should get a pass.
What was a pandemic was quickly revised to The Plandemic. It’s as if…. a world wide “conspiracy” jumped into action to seize and solidify power…. nah…. FJoe Biden and the Dems wouldn’t think of doing that…. forget I ever said that…. honest…. I love Joe and Jill… and Chuck and Nancy… honest. (can I have my bank account unfrozen?? please???)
Not *the* pandemic, *a* pandemic. We have pandemics all the time.
Not *the* corona virus, *a* corona virus. There are and have been multiples causing pronounced respiratory syndromes — the “SARS” part. Not counting the several, known, endemic that cause a big chunk of common colds.
Not a “vaccine” in the usual sense. A genitic-wrangled, immune-system augmenting treatment. The particular novel technologies involved — “technologies”; there are several — are interesting, and may enable spectacular things in not too long. Technology developent is not health care.
And clearly not a public health response, when it lacks accounting for the life years, and health years cost. Whatever good was done stands against a cool half-billion life years lost. Or five million lives, more or less.(*) Health-span impact is harder to calculate, but every indicator I can think of points the wrong way.
(*) In round numbers: 330,000,000 in the US, times 3 years is a billion, more or less. Locked down, no work-y, no gathering, no contact, no… etc. Call it half-dead, or half your life left to you to live. Half a billion life-years, 500,000,000, divided by 100 years of a life, leaves us the equivalent off 5,000,000 lives that didn’t get lived.
Give or take an order of magnitude — factor of 10. I think it’s closer to a close order of magnitude — factor of 2.
Interesting numbers, in any case. Little wonder people are pissed.
IMO, the only positive thing that came about during Covid was that the response laid bare the totalitarian impulses of much our bureaucracy at Local, State and Federal levels. It also clarified who among our political leadership and our ‘thought leaders/chattering class’ would stand up and oppose the sometimes tyrannical actions of the bureaucracy v simply allowing the public health community to ride roughshod over our liberties.
I believe that more than a few members of the voting public took notes on these points and have a naughty list and a nice list reflecting the clear dividing line to either choose to support the Fauci fascists or to support basic freedom and liberty. Some leaders rejected the totalitarian impulses of the bureaucracy, some enabled it and others embraced it. We all know which leaders fall into what category no matter how much they attempt to spin their way out of it and attempt to rewrite history.
Agreed.
On the one hand, 1984, Farenheight 451, and Max Headroom are here. On the other, the speed, depth, reach, and especially variety of non-aligned information races ever ahead. So, The Feds infiltrate The Twit and label anything but vocal parrots as subversive, insurrectionist, even. Meanwhile, LI exists.
With the ‘rona spasm, people encountered many realities in in similar tension: info management, propaganda, big gov administration, captive state “media”, health systems, “education” as both indoctrination and direct control, health care delivery, how treatments get picked, internationalism and its consequences, some microbiology, and more.
This all reminds me of one insurance company’s motto from back in the day: “An educated consumer is our best customer.” Maybe. I wish the better outcomes from this didn’t depend also on people not sucking.
I really can’t figure the odds. Interesting times.
No . . . it CAN’T be . . . Joe, say it ain’t so!!
Aw, come on….we all know men are evil. If not created and fostered for nefarious reasons the response is showing that nothing good has resulted in meddling.
What a surprise…
Wake me up when someone is held accountable for all the lies and BS with the plandemic. Nothing will be done about it, NOTHING.
“Wake me up when someone is held accountable.”
Okay, but you need to change your name to Rip Van Winkle.
It turns out that any science can be “undisputed”, if you’re willing to silence anyone who tries to dispute it.
Lysenkosim was undisputed, because no dispute was allowed.
It also turned out to be profoundly wrong, the root off great loss. BUT, the loss landed on people who didn’t matter much, so, really, no harm done.
History may not repeat, but it sometimes rhymes. What shall we call it this time?