White House reignites COVID lab-leak debate, targets Fauci

The White House has reignited the debate surrounding the origins of COVID-19, directly accusing former US Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci of pushing a "preferred narrative" that the virus originated naturally. The allegations are detailed in a White House report titled 'Lab Leak (The True Origins of Covid-19)'.

The report questions the roles of US health officials, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and EcoHealth Alliance in research linked to China's Wuhan Institute of Virology. It specifically claims that the publication 'The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2,' which was widely used to dismiss the lab-leak theory, was "prompted by Dr. Fauci to push the preferred narrative."

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By nearly all measures of science, if there was evidence of a natural origin it would have already surfaced. But it hasn't.

According to the White House, a lab-related incident involving gain-of-function research is the "most likely origin of COVID-19." The report asserts that current government oversight mechanisms for such research are "incomplete, severely convoluted, and lack global applicability." It cites the virus's "biological characteristic that is not found in nature" and data suggesting a "single introduction into humans" as supporting factors.

Further claims in the report include the Wuhan Institute of Virology's history of conducting gain-of-function research at inadequate biosafety levels and allegations that its researchers experienced COVID-like symptoms in the fall of 2019, prior to the virus's official discovery. The report also criticizes EcoHealth Alliance, led by Dr. Peter Daszak, for allegedly using US taxpayer funds to facilitate "dangerous" gain-of-function research in Wuhan. The US Department of Health and Human Services has initiated debarment proceedings against EcoHealth and suspended its funding.

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prompted by Dr. Fauci to push the preferred narrative that COVID-19 originated naturally.