There is a growing bipartisan consensus over the oversight of experiments on dangerous viruses.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) squarely places the blame on the Chinese regime for the origins of COVID-19, whether it emerged from a wet market or the Wuhan lab. He emphasized that both these factors were in China, and therefore China should take full responsibility and provide complete disclosure. This sentiment was echoed during a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing on June 18.
Despite the virus originating in Wuhan, China, and spreading globally, Beijing has consistently shifted blame and avoided taking responsibility. The Chinese government has silenced whistleblowers and withheld crucial data from outside investigators, including those from the World Health Organization, all while claiming transparency on the issue of the virus’s origins.
The debate continues on whether the virus existed in Wuhan before the pandemic and for how long it may have been circulating. Experts are particularly interested in investigating the Wuhan Institute of Virology to understand the nature of their research, surveillance on researchers, and any potential lapses in biocontainment measures that could have led to the virus’s escape.
Dr. Robert Garry and Gregory Koblentz lean towards a natural origins theory for the virus, downplaying the likelihood of a lab-based origin. However, Dr. Steven Quay points to circumstantial evidence linking the Wuhan lab to the military, the removal of virus sequence data in 2019, and the transportation of dangerous materials to the lab before the outbreak as reasons for suspicion.
The unique features of the COVID-19 virus genome, including a furin cleavage site in its spike protein, have raised concerns about its origin. Some US scientists had proposed experiments with similar features on coronavirus genomes in collaboration with the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2018.
With no definitive evidence on the virus’s origins, there is a consensus among lawmakers and witnesses for stricter regulations on gain-of-function research, which involves manipulating pathogens to enhance their pandemic potential. Dr. Richard Ebright emphasized the need for more stringent oversight in this critical area of research.
Sen. Roger Marshall has called for a “9/11-style commission” to investigate the issue further, emphasizing the importance of preventing such a crisis from happening again and holding those responsible accountable.
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