May 31, 2021
The Origin Of SARS-CoV-2 And More
By Michael D. Shaw
More than a year ago, a theory was being proffered that the virus that causes COVID-19 was developed in a lab in Wuhan, China, as part of so-called gain-of-function research. It was even suggested that our very own NIH was funding such work in China. Naturally, since then-President Trump was sympathetic to this point of view, it was roundly dismissed by the liberal media and many academics as a conspiracy theory. The most common argument against the lab theory noted that there was no proof of that allegation.
Of course, this response is completely disingenuous, since the Chinese authorities have hardly been forthcoming with the necessary details. And, for that matter, where was the media’s proof that the vaccine had a natural origin? Even the Chinese are opening up to the lab origin being a possibility. No less than Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Chinese Communist Party-run media outlet Global Times asserted that it’s “reasonable to maintain suspicions” about the role of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in spawning COVID-19.
More than that, as Jordan Schachtel relates, China is now reacting to the sudden international pressure thrust upon them regarding the lab origin…
“The best defense is a good offense, and that’s exactly how China is strategically reacting to continuing pressure building on Beijing officials to come clean about a possible viral lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in mid to late 2019. The stakes are high, as acknowledging the lab leak thesis would implicate the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in one of the greatest scandals in modern history. So instead of discussing the lab leak thesis, China is attempting to redirect blame at the United States, claiming that America is the true culprit for the spread of COVID-19.”
These accusations center around the Fort Detrick, MD facility, which was temporarily shut down in August, 2019 after failed safety inspections. The lab contained pathogens including Ebola and the bacteria which cause plague and tularemia. Since no outbreaks have ever been linked to this lab, and unlike the Chinese labs, such information is public knowledge, these charges are nothing more than desperate speculations.
Besides, the ploy of “The Americans did it” contradicts with the initial WHO-endorsed narrative that
- Direct zoonotic spillover is considered to be a possible-to-likely pathway
- Introduction through an intermediate host is considered to be a likely to very likely pathway
- Introduction through cold/ food chain products is considered a possible pathway
- Introduction through a laboratory incident was considered to be an extremely unlikely pathway
Despite WHO’s shady reputation, infamously informing us–for the longest time–that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could not be spread by airborne transmission, as well as it being in the pocket of China, anti-Trump forces and virologists, who should surely know better said nothing. And, if they said anything, it was to criticize the doubters. Fear of offending the establishment and thus threatening their grants, was a key factor. Bear in mind that the academic establishment is heavily funded by China.
A chronology, [You may have to register for free to read it] paying all due deference to the establishment media, outlines how the former conspiracy theory of lab origin has now become an acceptable position. Important is this letter. Also of interest, was a piece from the Wall Street Journal, which came out after the chronology’s final entry.
Despite all the foregoing, though, you can still sense the hesitancy of the scientific establishment in this sycophantic article appearing in the once-great Nature. You see, it’s all about maintaining a dialog, because what would we do without help from the Chinese during the next pandemic? Yeah, I know. Try not to laugh.