Fauci Thinks Covid Was Animal-Sourced But Doesn’t Dismiss Lab Leak
Walking a fine line on the complex matter of a lab leak or animal source for covid, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he was keeping an open mind. Separately, ex-CDC director Robert Redfield said he'd received death threats over suggesting covid was lab-sourced.
Fox News:
Fauci Stresses Keeping 'Open Mind' On Coronavirus Origin Amid Scrutiny Over Lab-Leak Theory
Dr. Anthony Fauci stressed keeping "an open mind" regarding the origin of coronavirus as he faces increased scrutiny over the lab-leak theory following the release of thousands of his emails. Fauci, appearing on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe," also said that he didn’t necessarily dismiss the lab leak theory as a conspiracy, but felt it was "more likely to be" an animal-to-human transmission scenario. "The situation is that we didn’t know and we still don’t know what the origin is," he said Thursday. "If you look historically in the way things rolled out, we all felt and still do actually, that it is more likely to be a natural jumping of species from an animal reservoir to a human, however since we don’t know that for sure, that you’ve got to keep an open mind." (Hein, 6/3)
The Washington Post:
The Alleged Fauci ‘Smoking Gun’ Emails
On Tuesday, The Washington Post and then BuzzFeed News published previously unreleased emails from the U.S. government’s top infectious-disease expert, Anthony S. Fauci. The emails were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which allows journalists to request internal government emails. The disclosures gave conservatives who have long questioned Fauci’s stewardship of the coronavirus response something to latch on to beyond shifts in his public comments. They argue that these private emails show Fauci wasn’t forthcoming or curious enough when he cast doubt upon the “Wuhan lab leak” theory and argued for a more cautious covid response than President Donald Trump. (Blake, 6/3)
CNN:
Dr. Anthony Fauci Says Publicly Released Email About Lab Leak Is Being Misconstrued
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that an email he received last year from an executive at the US-based EcoHealth Alliance has been misconstrued and offered a hint of regret about a February 2020 email downplaying the need to wear a mask. Earlier this week, news outlets including CNN, BuzzFeed News and The Washington Post obtained thousands of emails Fauci sent and received since the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases became a household name early last year. (Howard, 6/3)
Fox News:
Ex-CDC Director Redfield Says He Received Death Threats After Mentioning Lab-Leak Theory
Robert Redfield, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Vanity Fair he received death threats after an appearance on CNN in March where he said he believed COVID-19 may have escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China. He told the magazine that "death threats flooded his inbox" from "prominent scientists," some of whom were former friends. "I was threatened and ostracized because I proposed another hypothesis," he said. "I expected it from politicians. I didn’t expect it from science." (DeMarche, 6/3)
The Washington Post:
A Scientist Adventurer And China’s ‘Bat Woman’ Are Under Scrutiny As Coronavirus Lab-Leak Theory Gets Another Look
In the video, the researchers scale the cavern wall, their headlamps ghostly blue. “If our skin is exposed, it can easily come in contact with bat excrement and contaminated matter, which means this is quite risky,” says Tian Junhua, one of the bat hunters. “We have to live for several days in the cave . . .” he continues, as the soundtrack amps up the drama. “There’s no cellphone signal, no supplies. It’s truly scary.” The video was released by national science authorities and Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Dec. 10, 2019, and circulated on social media. It’s a high-quality production, designed to promote China’s world-leading viral research. Aired around the time Wuhan residents began turning up at hospitals with mysterious respiratory ailments, it also offers a rare glimpse of field conditions on the eve of the pandemic. (Dou and Kuo, 6/3)
KHN:
Analysis: Mounting Pressure On China About Covid ‘Lab Leak’ Could Backfire
President Joe Biden has ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to determine whether the covid virus, or a near ancestor, emerged from a cave, a live-animal market, a farm — or a secretive Chinese laboratory. But it’s doubtful this probe will yield definitive insights, and it could even backfire. Some experts hypothesize that global pressure could prompt a Chinese scientific whistleblower to come forward with evidence of a lab leak. After all, it is unlikely such an accident could have occurred without dozens of people finding out about the leak, or an ensuing cover-up. (Allen, 6/4)
In related news —
Axios:
Prepping For The Next Big Outbreak
Scientists and public health experts are trying to leverage lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to spur the development of technologies and infrastructure needed to stop the next big outbreak. Scientists predict infectious disease outbreaks will become more frequent, and the COVID-19 pandemic showed the enormous costs of not being adequately prepared. (Snyder, 6/3)
