According to a former senior scientist for the Chinese government, the possibility that the Covid virus leaked from a lab shouldn’t be discounted. Professor George Gao was in charge of China’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) and was instrumental in the fight against the pandemic and the search for its causes.
The Chinese government has repeatedly emphasised the idea that the virus was spread to people from animals at a wet market in Wuhan, and it rejects any claims that the disease may have started in a lab there. There have been calls for additional research into the likelihood of a lab leak from some scientists and world leaders.
Since the pandemic, several theories have been put forth regarding the origin of COVID-19. Many scientists believe the overwhelming body of evidence points to a natural origin for the virus, which is contrary to the current theory that it spread from animals to humans.
The hypothesis that the pandemic might have started as a zoonotic spillover event is also supported by recent research from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which was connected to several early cases.
Another theory is that COVID-19 infected someone who was studying the risk posed by viruses that emerge from the environment, as there have been cases in the past where infections were acquired in laboratories. But because there is little evidence to back it up and a lot of evidence points to a natural origin, this theory has largely been disproven.
For a BBC Radio 4 podcast called Fever: The Hunt Professor Gao, an internationally renowned virologist and immunologist, retired from the CDC last year and is now vice president of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Prof. Gao also informs the BBC that Chinese authorities conducted some sort of formal investigation into the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in early 2020, which may be a sign that they took the lab leak theory more seriously than their official statements suggest.
The findings of this investigation, however, have not been made public, so it is unknown whether any actions, if any, were taken as a result. Many experts and authorities are still split on whether the lab leak theory is true, so it remains a contentious subject.
It is almost certain that the virus that causes Covid once originated in bats. The question of how it got from bats to us, however, is much more contentious, and there were initially two main options. One is that the virus naturally spreads from bats to people, possibly through other animals.
According to many scientists, the preponderance of the evidence points to that as the most likely outcome. However, other scientists claim that the evidence is insufficient to completely rule out the main alternative theory, which is that the virus infected someone who was taking part in research intended to better understand the danger of viruses emerging from nature. These two options are currently embroiled in a geopolitical standoff, a web of conspiracies, and one of the most divisive and poisonous debates.
At that time, the prevailing scientific consensus was that the virus most likely originated in animals, specifically bats, and was transmitted to humans through an intermediate animal host, possibly a seafood market in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization (WHO) investigated the origins of the virus and released a report in March 2021, which stated that a laboratory leak was “extremely unlikely.”
It’s important to note that scientific understanding evolves as new evidence is gathered and analyzed. It is possible that since my last update, new information has emerged or new studies have been conducted.
If a top Chinese scientist or any reputable scientific authority has made a statement suggesting a laboratory leak cannot be ruled out, it would be advisable to refer to the most recent research and expert opinions on the matter. Following news from reliable sources and scientific publications can help provide the most up-to-date and accurate information regarding the origins of COVID-19.
