In 2020, the Senate has already heard from Dr. Robert Redfield on this matter. In Washington, a special Congressional committee, including representatives of the new Republican majority, began hearings on the origin of the coronavirus. Earlier, some high-ranking U.S. officials reported that it is very likely that one of the laboratories in the Chinese city of Wuhan inadvertently became the source of COVID-19. However, many scientists point out that there is no scientific evidence to support this conclusion, and the White House also confirms that there is no consensus within the government about the source of the virus.
One of the first committees heard from the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, who has always been a proponent of the lab-origin theory of the virus. Speaking to the committee on Wednesday, he took the opportunity to reiterate his opposition to so-called function enhancement research, in which viruses are made more infectious under laboratory conditions. The number of offers should remain the same. Dr. Redfield stated that from his perspective, the likelihood of the natural origin of the coronavirus has no scientific explanation. According to some estimates, the virus crossed the species barrier between animals and humans in Wuhan, possibly at the very market where many live animals and birds were sold, located in close proximity to the Institute of Virology, one of the world’s leading research centers where coronavirus was being studied at the time.
We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what will happen next. Episodes The end of the story: Promotional Podcasts According to Dr. Redfield, those very studies were conducted there, with American taxpayer money. Just last week, FBI Director Christopher Ray also mentioned that the bureau believes a leak from one of the Chinese labs is the most likely source of COVID-19. And a little earlier on the same topic – the U.S. Department of Energy, which oversees all biological labs in the country, said there was a possible leak at one of the labs in Wuhan. The department stressed that it reached this conclusion with “low confidence”.
In response, many leading experts on the virus rushed to note that there was actually no new scientific evidence to support the laboratory leak hypothesis. According to Professor David Robertson, Head of the Department of Viral Genomics and Bioinformatics at the University of Glasgow, the natural origin theory remains one of the most plausible.