March 13, 2023 - 2:15pm
Anthony Fauci — America’s recently retired Covid supremo — has played an influential role in the debate over the how the pandemic started. Though he’s previously claimed to have an open mind as to the possibilities, his past statements have leaned strongly in favour of a natural origin for the virus.
However, in an interview with CNN over the weekend, Fauci appears to be more open-minded than ever — as well he might be, given that some parts of the US Government now believe that a leak from a laboratory is the likeliest explanation. However, he’s still not confronting this possibility with the gravity it demands.
In the interview, Jim Acosta asks him about the likelihood that a lab leak was to blame. “That’s a very good question, Jim,” Fauci replies. The same can’t be said for the way he frames his answer.
He begins by suggesting that “one of the things that people maybe don’t fully appreciate is that all of the intelligence agencies unanimously agree that this was not engineered” — by which he means it was not engineered as a “bio-weapon”. However, no serious person is suggesting this. Covid-19 would be useless on the battlefield — given its comparatively mild effects on most fighting-age adults.
Having opened with a true but irrelevant statement, Fauci then addresses a more pertinent scenario: that “a lab leak could be that someone was out in the wild, maybe looking for different types of viruses in bats, got infected, went into a lab, and was being studied in a lab, and then it came out of the lab.” And yet, having allowed for that possibility, he claims this is “still a natural occurrence”.
Really? Fauci doesn’t specify where the virus would have come from in his scenario nor the location of the lab. But a plausible sequence of events — the transportation of a viral sample or an infected person from a remote jungle to a lab situated in a well-connected mega-city like Wuhan — would be anything but a “natural occurrence”. For the virus to escape in this context would be a catastrophic failure of biosecurity.
What would make such a breach even worse is if the virus had been engineered into a form that does not occur in nature. To conduct such research (for medical purposes) and then allow a leak would be world-changingly irresponsible. So does Fauci address this scenario? He does, briefly: “the other possibility is that someone takes a virus from the environment that doesn’t actually spread very well in humans and manipulates it a bit and accidentally it escapes”.
What is Fauci saying here? If he means taking a coronavirus — i.e. one related to viruses that have already caused deadly disease outbreaks — and making it more dangerous, then this cannot be adequately described as manipulating it “a bit”.
Fauci concludes by stating that there’s been no previous case of a lab leak causing a pandemic — and, as far as we know, that’s true. However, that doesn’t mean that an engineered coronavirus couldn’t cause a pandemic. After all, SARS-CoV-2 did cause a pandemic; coronaviruses can be engineered to be more dangerous; and dangerous organisms have escaped from labs. The possibility that all three of these things happened together should be taken with the utmost seriousness. It should certainly not be downplayed.
Peter Franklin is Associate Editor of UnHerd. He was previously a policy advisor and speechwriter on environmental and social issues.
peterfranklin_
Join the discussion
Join like minded readers that support our journalism by becoming a paid subscriber
To join the discussion in the comments, become a paid subscriber.
Join like minded readers that support our journalism, read unlimited articles and enjoy other subscriber-only benefits.
SubscribeFauci’s shamelessness is matched only by the mainstream media’s credulity.
Interesting. My first reaction was this guy has no shame.
Interesting. My first reaction was this guy has no shame.
Fauci’s shamelessness is matched only by the mainstream media’s credulity.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to declassify information on the origins of COVID-19, it just needs Biden to sign it off.
drums fingers waiting…
The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to declassify information on the origins of COVID-19, it just needs Biden to sign it off.
drums fingers waiting…
The chances of the outbreak occurring randomly right next to a lab that works on the virus are so infinitesimally small that of course it came from that lab.
Fauci gave lots of money to that lab. He had personal links to it. He’s trying to save his own you-know-what from the next inevitable confession that the lab was doing gain of function.
Not just Fauci but Collins and the other big honchos at the NIH as well. They are all culpable, albeit indirectly simply because they were so convinced of their own infallibility and superiority over everybody else that they found a work around to still carry out gain-of-function research that had been banned in the US under the Obama administration.
The emails between Fauci, Collins and the rest of the gang that prove the conspiracy to shut down any mention of the lab leak theory are readily available online. They were able to use their power over a vast research funding budget to intimidate scientists who opposed them in this endeavour, just as they intimidated those who supported the Great Barrington Declaration.
Looking forward to seeing Fauci in the dock for crimes against humanity.
The emails between Fauci, Collins and the rest of the gang that prove the conspiracy to shut down any mention of the lab leak theory are readily available online. They were able to use their power over a vast research funding budget to intimidate scientists who opposed them in this endeavour, just as they intimidated those who supported the Great Barrington Declaration.
Looking forward to seeing Fauci in the dock for crimes against humanity.
Not just Fauci but Collins and the other big honchos at the NIH as well. They are all culpable, albeit indirectly simply because they were so convinced of their own infallibility and superiority over everybody else that they found a work around to still carry out gain-of-function research that had been banned in the US under the Obama administration.
The chances of the outbreak occurring randomly right next to a lab that works on the virus are so infinitesimally small that of course it came from that lab.
Fauci gave lots of money to that lab. He had personal links to it. He’s trying to save his own you-know-what from the next inevitable confession that the lab was doing gain of function.
Problem is on both sides of this there is cognitive bias that’s influencing what folks want to believe. Fauci will have been prey to a bit of this just as anyone might. One also wonders even if the intelligence is released whether it’s ‘low confidence’ rating will do much to lift the fog entirely? So where exactly do we end up? The only answer is to remain inquisitive.
IMO more importantly there’s a paucity of articles about the real villains here – the CCP’s refusal to allow a proper investigation into the source of the virus that has caused such disruption to so many lives. They’ll be quite happy with the West arguing with itself rather than turning real heat on their culpability.
There’s been no proper investigation of US biolabs either. The ones that were also involved in Sars Cov 2 research.
And the report says a lab leak but doesn’t state which lab.
A lot of actors in this need to come clean but won’t.
I think there is general consensus Covid 19 first appears and rapidly multiplies in Wuhan. I hadn’t heard a theory it was actually transported there from a US lab. is that the contention? Research into such viruses happens in many labs in many places and thank goodness it does/did, as we then were, relatively, quickly able to understand and combat it.
I had never heard that theory specifically but GOF research originated from US labs before regulators deemed it too dangerous. The allegation is that the research was simply shifted to China.
I had never heard that theory specifically but GOF research originated from US labs before regulators deemed it too dangerous. The allegation is that the research was simply shifted to China.
Do you expect Fauci to?
I think there is general consensus Covid 19 first appears and rapidly multiplies in Wuhan. I hadn’t heard a theory it was actually transported there from a US lab. is that the contention? Research into such viruses happens in many labs in many places and thank goodness it does/did, as we then were, relatively, quickly able to understand and combat it.
Do you expect Fauci to?
Hmm. China isn’t the only villain here. Fauci and his posse did everything possible to shut down debate on the subject. China had nothing to do with the censorship in the west, other than provide a blueprint for authoritarian impulses. I’m not sure Fauci and the WHO even tried to seriously investigate the issue.
I don’t think Fauci comes out of this well JV and as I note he was suffering from a cognitive bias. He’s more open minded now, and as the old saying goes ‘when the facts change…’. But his credibility clearly damaged.
My point is that arguing amongst ourselves excuses the CCP. Why aren’t we getting a blistering UnHerd article about their mendacity and lack of transparency that contributed so much to this mess. I sometimes sense UnHerd worries about upsetting CCP opinion. It’s more likely to publish something anti-American than anti CCP.
I don’t think Fauci comes out of this well JV and as I note he was suffering from a cognitive bias. He’s more open minded now, and as the old saying goes ‘when the facts change…’. But his credibility clearly damaged.
My point is that arguing amongst ourselves excuses the CCP. Why aren’t we getting a blistering UnHerd article about their mendacity and lack of transparency that contributed so much to this mess. I sometimes sense UnHerd worries about upsetting CCP opinion. It’s more likely to publish something anti-American than anti CCP.
There’s been no proper investigation of US biolabs either. The ones that were also involved in Sars Cov 2 research.
And the report says a lab leak but doesn’t state which lab.
A lot of actors in this need to come clean but won’t.
Hmm. China isn’t the only villain here. Fauci and his posse did everything possible to shut down debate on the subject. China had nothing to do with the censorship in the west, other than provide a blueprint for authoritarian impulses. I’m not sure Fauci and the WHO even tried to seriously investigate the issue.
Problem is on both sides of this there is cognitive bias that’s influencing what folks want to believe. Fauci will have been prey to a bit of this just as anyone might. One also wonders even if the intelligence is released whether it’s ‘low confidence’ rating will do much to lift the fog entirely? So where exactly do we end up? The only answer is to remain inquisitive.
IMO more importantly there’s a paucity of articles about the real villains here – the CCP’s refusal to allow a proper investigation into the source of the virus that has caused such disruption to so many lives. They’ll be quite happy with the West arguing with itself rather than turning real heat on their culpability.
Bio-weapons aren’t intended for the battlefield, Peter, they’re too slow acting. They are intended to cause chaos in the society that is funding and supplying the battlefield, just like SARS-Cov-2 did.
Except it didn’t. The pandemic had next to no impact on our economies. It’s a brutal thing to say, but it killed the elderly predominantly, whose economically productive days were long since over. What messed up our economies was the ways we chose to try to fight the virus.
We have a lot to learn about what worked and what didn’t.
But it did cause chaos, even though it should not have.
No impact on the economy? Oh ok then. Hunky dory. Tell that to millions of small and medium sized business owners who lost their businesses and employees who lost their jobs with the huge shift from small business to even more moolah for big business.
But as David said, that wasn’t due to Covid deaths or illnesses, it was due to the policy of shutting down the economy. That policy was not required, or as it turns out, even useful.
But as David said, that wasn’t due to Covid deaths or illnesses, it was due to the policy of shutting down the economy. That policy was not required, or as it turns out, even useful.
But it did cause chaos, even though it should not have.
No impact on the economy? Oh ok then. Hunky dory. Tell that to millions of small and medium sized business owners who lost their businesses and employees who lost their jobs with the huge shift from small business to even more moolah for big business.
What bio-weapons?
Except it didn’t. The pandemic had next to no impact on our economies. It’s a brutal thing to say, but it killed the elderly predominantly, whose economically productive days were long since over. What messed up our economies was the ways we chose to try to fight the virus.
We have a lot to learn about what worked and what didn’t.
What bio-weapons?
Bio-weapons aren’t intended for the battlefield, Peter, they’re too slow acting. They are intended to cause chaos in the society that is funding and supplying the battlefield, just like SARS-Cov-2 did.
Actually there is a known previous lab-leak pandemic, of H1N1 in 1977. Only affected those under 20, as the rest had already been exposed to it before it went extinct in 1957. See: https://nationalpost.com/news/a-brief-terrifying-history-of-viruses-escaping-from-labs-70s-chinese-pandemic-was-a-lab-mistake
(article from 2014, i.e. when you were allowed to discuss such things in the newspapers.)
Actually there is a known previous lab-leak pandemic, of H1N1 in 1977. Only affected those under 20, as the rest had already been exposed to it before it went extinct in 1957. See: https://nationalpost.com/news/a-brief-terrifying-history-of-viruses-escaping-from-labs-70s-chinese-pandemic-was-a-lab-mistake
(article from 2014, i.e. when you were allowed to discuss such things in the newspapers.)
“Genetic analysis and several unusual characteristics of the 1977 Russian flu have prompted many researchers to say that the virus was released to the public through a laboratory accident,[4][5][10][11][12][13] or resulted from a live-vaccine trial escape.[5][14]”
1977 Russia Flu – Wikipedia today
“Genetic analysis and several unusual characteristics of the 1977 Russian flu have prompted many researchers to say that the virus was released to the public through a laboratory accident,[4][5][10][11][12][13] or resulted from a live-vaccine trial escape.[5][14]”
1977 Russia Flu – Wikipedia today