State Department officials considered a lab accident to be the most likely cause of COVID-19 in the pandemic’s early months and worried that international virologists may help with a coverup, according to a 2020 memo obtained by U.S. Right to Know. “Origin of the outbreak: The Wuhan labs remained the most likely but least probed,” … Lab accident is ‘most likely but least probed’ COVID origin, State Dept. memo says
A prominent scientist who has denounced a congressional investigation into gain-of-function research helped fund Wuhan Institute of Virology gain-of-function work flagged by congressional investigators. Peter Hotez, dean of the Baylor College of Medicine National School of Tropical Medicine, has been a fierce critic of potential hearings next year into a possible lab origin of COVID-19 … Critic of congressional probe into gain-of-function research helped fund Wuhan gain-of-function study
A former U.S. Agency for International Development official founded and worked for a controversial organization benefiting from USAID funds while he continued to receive six-figure paychecks from his USAID job, potentially running afoul of ethics laws, according to documents obtained by U.S. Right to Know. Emerging Pandemic Threats Division Director Dennis Carroll went on to … Celebrated virus hunter siphoned taxpayer funds for his private ‘Global Virome Project’
An early World Health Organization report about the COVID-19 pandemic was influenced by political considerations in China, emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show. A World Health Organization mission of 13 international experts and 12 Chinese experts — led by Bruce Aylward, a senior advisor at the World Health Organization, and Wannian Liang, … Emails raise questions about China’s sway over first WHO mission on COVID-19
April 20, 3:40 p.m.: This story has been updated with comment from UTMB. The Wuhan Institute of Virology has the right to ask a partnering lab in the U.S. to destroy all records of their work, according to a legal document obtained by U.S. Right to Know. A memorandum of understanding between the Wuhan lab … Wuhan lab can delete data in ‘explosive’ legal agreement with U.S. lab
A new maximum biocontainment lab in Kunming, China, was certified three years ago while remaining under-the-radar in the U.S. biodefense community, documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show. China’s plans to build an ABSL-4 under the Institute of Medical Biology and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Kunming were previously known. But … U.S. Right to Know confirms a third maximum containment lab in China
The World Health Organization has proposed 26 scientists for a new group to investigate the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as future outbreaks. WHO plans to appoint members to the new Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) after a two week review to gather public opinion on the proposed … Public comments on the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) members
A new document shows Zhengli Shi’s edits to a draft of the Emerging Microbes & Infections commentary, “No credible evidence supporting the claims of the laboratory engineering of SARS-CoV-2.” Zhengli Shi is a leading Chinese virologist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Shi proposed three edits of note. First, she proposed changing the presentation of … Zhengli Shi Edits to Widely-Cited EMI Commentary
The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) “has many bat samples not yet worked out or results published,” according to emails of Ohio State University virologist Shan-Lu Liu, which were obtained by U.S. Right to Know. Shan-Lu Liu has collaborated with WIV’s chief coronavirologist Zhengli Shi. For example, Liu consulted with Shi on a Feb 26, … Wuhan Institute of Virology has many unreported bat virus samples, collaborating virologist says