Western Reader
Scientists who previously dismissed the theory that the coronavirus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) lab have now admitted that such a possibility was highly likely, according to obtained messages from the DailyMail.com.
Dr. Kristian Andersen, an evolutionary biologist from Denmark, published a research paper in March 2020 dismissing the lab leak theory as a conspiracy and racist.
However, messages sent by Dr. Andersen on Slack revealed that he actually believed it was highly likely that the virus originated from a Chinese lab.
Slack Reveals Andersen Affirmed the Probability of the Virus Originating from Chinese Labs
NEW — Dr. Kristian Andersen, co-author of the March 2020 Proximal Origin paper that denounced a COVID lab origin as a xenophobic conspiracy theory, privately told other scientists, “The main issue is that accidental escape is in fact highly likely – it’s not some fringe theory.” pic.twitter.com/UjjGP8e2qJ
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) July 13, 2023
Before publishing the research paper, Dr. Andersen privately acknowledged in a Slack channel that it was highly likely the virus originated from a Chinese lab.
The conversations among the group initially supported the theory that the virus had a natural origin, with transmission from an animal to humans in a natural setting.
However, both Dr. Andersen and his colleagues extensively discussed the potential consequences of blaming China for the virus, fearing political backlash and the impact on future funding for virus research.
.@Jim_Jordan Confronts Dr. Kristian Andersen for Pulling a 180 on His Stance on the Origins of COVID
On January 31, 2020, Andersen wrote in an infamous email, “[COVID] features (potentially) look engineered,” and the “genome is inconsistent with expectations from evolutionary… pic.twitter.com/70hjDgOeAO
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 11, 2023
The Slack channel also revealed that Andersen was aware of his colleagues’ efforts to suppress the information about the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, and later claimed to change their stance before speaking publicly about it.
Lack of Integrity in the Biomedical Industry Called Entire “Scientific Community” into Question
Dr. Andersen and Dr. Robert Garry, his co-author, were called to testify before Congress, where House Republicans grilled them on the recent revelations and their efforts to silence dissenting voices.
Interestingly, other messages revealed that Dr. Andersen initially considered the possibility of human manipulation based on the virus’s genomic characteristics.
However, just four days later, on February 4, he changed his stance on the virus’s origins, as indicated by an email he sent to another group of scientists.
This article appeared in The Political Globe and has been published here with permission.
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