Department of Energy’s updated report on origins of coronavirus pandemic jars with most scientists’ assessments
– demonstrate clearly using multiple lines of evidence that the pandemic emerged into the human population at least twice over an approximately two-week period at or immediately upstream of Huanan market in association with the live animal trade,” she said.
“Any data suggesting a lab leak would have to be consistent with this evidence. So far, all competing hypotheses challenging our findings have failed to pass peer review. Since the DoE findings are described as ‘weak’ and ‘low confidence’, I’d be surprised if this new intelligence meets that bar.” Prof David Robertson, who studies viral evolution at the University of Glasgow, raised concerns that “vague rumours of new information” were contributing to misinformation on the issue including how much was known about the origins of the virus. “It’s important to appreciate that we’ve lots of evidence for a natural origin for Sars-CoV-2, ie not just a single report but multiple lines of evidence which has steadily accumulated since 2020,” he said.
Dong-Yan Jin, a virology professor at Hong Kong University, agreed. “To me and other scientists who have common sense and who know well about the facts, the possibility of lab leak is extremely low. The story of lab leak in Wuhan is a fiction and it is as ridiculous as the counterclaim that Sars-CoV-2 comes from lab leaks in the US,” he said.
But Lentzos added that further work was needed. “I don’t take DoE’s new position as a ringing endorsement of the lab leak theory, but I do think we need to continue having an open mind on this issue and to continue pressing for an international forensic investigation – though I appreciate the chances of this happening, and of an investigation reaching a convincing conclusion, are exceedingly slim,” she said.One problem is that it is nearly always challenging to pinpoint the origins of a virus.
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