Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Controversial Covid Lab Leak Theory Reenergized By Claims Of 'Patients Zero'
Forbes: Covid-19 Patients Zero In Wuhan Identified, Boosting Lab Leak Theory
A report based on multiple anonymous sources inside the US government says that researchers working inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) were the first to be infected with the virus that went on to trigger a pandemic and kill millions worldwide. The report in Public cites “multiple U.S. government officials interviewed as part of a lengthy investigation” saying that Ben Hu, who led WIV’s gain-of-function research on coronaviruses, was among the “patients zero” who contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus in November of 2019. (Mack, 6/15)
The Times: What Really Went On Inside The Wuhan Lab Weeks Before Covid Erupted
Scientists in Wuhan working alongside the Chinese military were combining the world’s most deadly coronaviruses to create a new mutant virus just as the pandemic began. Investigators who scrutinised top-secret intercepted communications and scientific research believe Chinese scientists were running a covert project of dangerous experiments, which caused a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and started the Covid-19 outbreak. The US investigators say one of the reasons there is no published information on the work is because it was done in collaboration with researchers from the Chinese military, which was funding it and which, they say, was pursuing bioweapons. (Calvert and Arbuthnott, 6/10)
The Conversation: What If China Really Did Develop COVID As A Bioweapon? Here Are The Issues Involved
The new allegations are based on “hundreds of documents” including confidential reports and memos, emails and scientific papers, as well as interviews with US State Department officials who have investigated the pandemic’s source. The report also claims that researchers from the Wuhan laboratory were taken to hospital with “COVID-like symptoms” in November 2019. (Bentley, 6/14)
