Source: Fox News
Summary
Newly released internal messages among the authors of a widely cited paper on the origins of COVID-19 have raised doubts about the virus’s origin from bats. The authors, including Kristian Andersen, Robert Garry, Eddie Holmes, and Andrew Rambaut, privately discussed the possibility of a lab origin, with some assigning a 30% probability to it. The paper, published in Nature Medicine in March 2020, had publicly ruled out a laboratory origin. Sen. Rand Paul released the messages, criticizing the authors for their alleged dishonesty. The authors also coordinated with the US intelligence community and NIH leadership while defending their conclusions.
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As expected, the matter has reached another stage.
The authors’ internal messages revealed a complex and contentious process, with debates over the furin cleavage site and suspicions of professional rivalry and undermining. They also suspected a prominent coronavirus researcher, Ralph Baric, of being the anonymous leaker who shared confidential peer-review information with a journalist. The authors’ public conclusions were less certain than their private discussions suggested, with some expressing doubts about the virus’s origin from bats.
The scene is set for another round of questioning, with Dr. Anthony Fauci slated to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on the origins of the virus.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization’s scientific advisory group has concluded that the pandemic was caused by “zoonotic spillover,” either directly from bats or through an intermediate host.
The familiar dance of accusations, denials, and investigations continues, with the public left to wonder what really happened.
One thing is clear: the search for truth has become a performance, with each side trying to outmaneuver the other.
