Calls for Further Inquiries Into Coronavirus Origins

[Yorkie Mom]

A group of scientists has called for a much more thorough review of lab security+virus handling procedures in #China, stating that the ⁦@WHO team was restricted from the outset by terms of reference pushing a zoonotic origin of the #coronavirus.

Stephen McDonell
@StephenMcDonell
China Correspondent BBC, after 9 years as ABC Beijing Bureau Chief. Bachelor of Arts, Wollongong University. MA (Journalism) U.T.S.

Link to tweet

You can read letter above yourself but it is a very strongly-worded criticism of the @WHO
investigation team’s processes and findings by a group of scientists who say that “no robust process for examining the origins of the pandemic has been established”. #coronavirus

They say there were “different evidentiary standards” for the four theories considered; that there is no solid evidence for the conclusion that a lab leak origin was “extremely unlikely”; that critical records and samples remain “inaccessible” etc.

They say the primary conclusion that an intermediary host animal path was the most likely origin of the #coronavirus remains “entirely theoretical”, meaning - at the very least - that other origin pathways must remain open. #China

+ calling for: a new team to carry out research in #China with broader specialist expertise; without any government having veto power re the team make up; a more robust process dealing with potential conflicts of interest like “prior professional association with laboratories”...

++calling for team to be able to interview relevant people “without the presence of government authorities”.

Calls for Further Inquiries Into Coronavirus Origins

A group of scientists and others who are critics of the W.H.O. team report want a broader investigation into the potential sources of the coronavirus pandemic, and a review of lab security in handling viruses.

More: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/04/07/science/virus-inquiries-pandemic-origins.html

[Voltaire2]

1. gotta fuel the hate. nt.

[Yorkie Mom]

2. I don't think it has anything to do with hate.

I think scientists are trying to find out where the virus came from without interference from the government (of China) who actually blamed it on us (the United States).

[Voltaire2]

5. of course it does

Last edited Thu Apr 8, 2021, 11:48 AM - Edit history (1)

there is an organized effort from the former guy's fascist party to blame china for covid. They are joined in this effort by the neocon triumphalists who want us to wage a cold war with China.

[Yorkie Mom]

8. Yes, Trump did try to blame China, but

I don't know that anyone wants a cold war. It gets sticky because of this. Trump created an atmosphere that makes it difficult to even ask questions about the virus.

Did you miss the part where China tried to blame the United States for the virus?

[BannonsLiver]

11. Imagine being this agitated all the time.

[jimfields33]

3. The big thing is to not lay blame but put in

measures to have this never happen again.

[SoonerPride]

4. honestly at this point what difference does it make?

I'm all ears.

Why does it matter?

[lagomorph777]

6. It's not the origin that caused a pandemic. It's the deliberate mis-handling by Trump and others.

I agree with you, Sooner.

[SoonerPride]

12. This is the main thing that trumpists want to divert attention from.

Whatever the origin, the response was what killed 560,000 and counting.

[Yorkie Mom]

7. Would it matter to you if

the researchers at this lab were working on a bioweapon that accidentally escaped?

Would it matter if we could prevent this from happening again?

[getagrip_already]

9. this.... just because you can do something doesn't mean you should....

Understanding where this came from is important to preventing future outbreaks.

It's no secret there are labs around the word doing what amounts to amplifying the effects of various virus's to find out how bad bad can be, and to try to find a way to defend against it. This isn't always part of a weapons program, sometimes it's actually funded by the NIH.

If it ends up having inadvertently coming out of a lab, we need to know that. This isn't rw racist fever ranting. It's science.

[SoonerPride]

14. but honestly it isn't. and that's exactly the point

it isn't science at all.

[getagrip_already]

17. Well, it is science at it's root....

just because a few racists asshats want to make it something else doesn't mean the core should be scrapped.

[Yorkie Mom]

19. Agreed.

I come from a family of scientists and some people don't seem to understand how science works.

[SoonerPride]

10. We know that isn't the case already.

The only question is was this a totally natural zoomorphic transmission or an accidental escape from a lab studying the coronavirus.

They already know there was no human tinkering with the virus.

That is fact.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2020/03/17/covid-19-coronavirus-did-not-come-from-a-lab-study-shows-natural-origins/

Don’t you just love conspiracy theories? Especially when two groups of people have pretty much the same conspiracy theory about each other?

Some folks including politicians in both the U.S. and China have suggested that the COVID-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) that’s causing the pandemic may actually be a bioweapon that was manufactured in a lab. The only difference between their conspiracy theories is who’s being accused of doing the manufacturing.

As you probably know, proximity alone should not imply guilt. That would be like claiming that you farted whenever there’s a bad smell and you happen to be in the vicinity. Sure you may have intestines but that doesn’t mean that every foul stench emanated from your guts.

Plus, it’s a lot easier to leak a pocket of air though your butt than a virus from a BSL-4 facility. BSL-4 facilities maintain the highest level of security among bio-laboratories since they do work on dangerous potentially life-threatening agents such as the Ebola, Lassa fever, and Marburg viruses. So it’s not as if the people inside these labs are playing throw and catch with the viruses and stuffing them into their pockets. To be designated as a BSL-4, the lab has to have the appropriate ventilation systems, reinforced walls, security systems, and construction to keep the wrong things inside and the right things outside.

[Yorkie Mom]

16. We actually don't know that.

[SoonerPride]

18. Science says we do know.

But you can "believe" whatever you wish.

[getagrip_already]

20. this as well...

The people who are telling us it is fact are the same people who would look bad if it did escape.

And lets not discount that the virus was amplified before it accidentally escaped (if that is what happened). That isn't dna editing, it's a process of natural selection which wouldn't show up in dna or rna analysis.

[Hugin]

13. +1

Yeah, what?

[Midnightwalk]

15. I think it does matter

Say an engine falls off a plane causing a crash and they find cracks in the metal. Was it a manufacturing problem, a design problem or maintenance problem?

The immediate solution might be to check for cracks on the other planes. We would still want to know how the problem came about to avoid similar new problems in the future.

Same here. If it had a zoonotic source we would want to study the path more closely and would want to try to stop future events. If it was a lab escape what protocols have to be changed. We can look at those things in abstract but knowing the precise mechanism would let us focus on that

This is trickier because there would be geopolitical and racist fallout if this was a lab accident. If it weren’t for the potential fallout discovering the origin would be an obvious step. That fallout could be severe and I don’t know how to balance that risk.

I have no opinion on the origin. Just my opinion on why knowing the origin would be good for the science.

[Initech]

21. They're seriously beating a dead horse at this point.

So what if the lab leak actually happened? What are we going to do? Blow up the lab? Declare war on China? And that is a war we flat out will not win. Seriously let it go.

[Yorkie Mom]

22. No, not declare war.

Sanctions could be an option, though.

[Initech]

23. Would that accomplish anything? Seriously?

If anything that would just make China hate us more and turn people even further against Asian Americans.