Professor Wendy Barclay from Imperial College London, at a meeting with members of the British Parliament, said that the theory of a coronavirus leak from the laboratory cannot be ruled out. Nonetheless, a virologist at the SAGE scientific advisory group considers it “much more likely” that the coronavirus will spread to humans in a market in Wuhan. According to the expert, viruses in the markets are “very often” transmitted from animals to people.
One of the leading virologists in the UK said it could not rule out the possibility of a coronavirus leak from a science laboratory in Wuhan, according to the Daily Mail. But Professor Wendy Barclay, a member of the SAGE advisory group and an infectious disease expert at Imperial College London, says the general idea that viruses are transmitted to people in markets from animals looks “much more likely” and that such cases are frequent.
Her comments came amid growing doubts about the natural origin of the coronavirus. In particular, leading American infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci has faced calls to resign over the scandal after rejecting a laboratory leak as nonsense last year, but appears to have viewed it behind closed doors. And scientists who signed a letter last year condemning the laboratory leak theory have since changed their minds and said a full investigation into the origins of COVID-19 is required.
US President Joe Biden ordered the US intelligence community a few weeks ago to conduct a full investigation into the origins of the pandemic virus and demanded that scientists find out if the laboratory leak theory was true …
Professor Barclay shared her opinion on the origin of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19: “I can say with great confidence that it is of animal origin.”
But Conservative MP Aaron Bell asked the virologist: “Let’s say, initially from an animal source, but is it possible that this coronavirus was studied in a laboratory, and then a leak occurred from there?”
Wendy Barclay replied: “I cannot rule out this possibility. But I would like to point out that we have cases where six other coronaviruses have entered the human population, and we do not think that it happened this way (due to laboratory negligence. – “MK”) “.
Professor Barclay’s comment comes after Boris Johnson said Sunday that “any reasonable person” would be “open minded” about the origins of the coronavirus outbreak, but the UK now does not believe in the so-called “laboratory leak” theory.
Earlier, the head of the World Health Organization insisted that the theory that COVID-19 originates from a laboratory in Wuhan is not excluded – and said that China should help solve the mystery out of “respect” for those killed by the pandemic. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, suggesting that Beijing did not cooperate fully, called for more “transparency” in the ongoing investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.
China is known to say it is not responsible for the pandemic and rejects theories that the COVID-19 disease is man-made.
Meanwhile, as the Daily Mail reminds, earlier this month, one of the first authors of the letter, published in the medical journal The Lancet at the beginning of the pandemic, said that he had changed his position regarding the possibility of a coronavirus leak from the laboratory. New York-based microbiologist Dr. Peter Palese signed a letter last February claiming that the virus could only be natural in origin.
The “intimidating” letter, written by Dr. Peter Dashak, head of the non-profit organization that transferred US taxpayer dollars to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, writes the Daily Mail, has been criticized by experts for ostracizing anyone who has different opinions about the virus’s origins. rejecting them as conspiracy theories.
And only now, almost 16 months after this letter was published in a world famous medical journal, experts are seriously considering the theory of an accidental leak of COVID-19 from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
“Coronavirus created artificially”: photo of the Institute in Wuhan
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And now 77-year-old Professor Palese has taken a significant turn, recognizing that all theories about how COVID originated now need to be scrutinized. He told MailOnline: “I believe there is a need for a thorough investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 virus. After the letter I signed to Lancet, a lot of disturbing information appeared, so I want to see the answers to all questions. “
The question of the circumstances of the signing of last year’s letter and what specific new information has become known, Professor Palese declined to comment.
Another scientist who signed the letter, Dr. Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust in London, said that “most likely” the virus came from an animal, but “there are other possibilities that cannot be completely ruled out, and it is imperative to remain impartial.”
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