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Re: Coronavirus
https://trib247.com/articles/the-new...ign=Newsletter
The new normal: Healthy young people dying 'suddenly'
by: WorldTribune.com 06/29/2022 Source: WorldTribune.com
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Nick Nemeroff
by WorldTribune Staff, June 29, 2022
Comedian Nick Nemeroff, 32.
Dani Hampson, 34, fiancée of UK X Factor star Tom Mann.
The 20-year-old nephew of actor Josh Gad.
All young. All healthy. All died "suddenly" and "unexpectedly" in the past few days.
"Fortunately for the vaccine makers, no health authority in the world is investigating these deaths because healthy young people dying in their sleep is the new normal," Steve Kirsch wrote in a June 21 analysis on substack.com.
"There is no question that young people are dying in their sleep at an extraordinary rate never seen before."
Nemeroff died on Monday, his family said in a statement mourning his “sudden passing.” The cause of his death was not released. He was in perfect health before passing.
Canada’s CBC News reported that his manager, Morgan Flood of Grand Wave Entertainment, said that Nemeroff “died in his sleep.”
After getting the vaccine in February of 2021, Nemeroff (some say jokingly) tweeted: "Ok so I got the vaccine and it did have a side effect...the area the needle went into (if I had to describe it I’d say like, on the top part of my upper arm. If that makes sense?) hurt a bit after. Seems ok now but honestly do NOT recommend getting it & wish I could take it back."
Hampson, who worked as a publicist, did not suffer from any known health problems and her cause of death is unknown. She died on the morning of what should have been her marriage to Mann, The Sun reported.
Mann posted on social media following Hampson's passing: “I can’t believe I am writing these words but my darling Dani - my best friend, my everything and more, the love of my life - passed away in the early hours of Saturday morning, 18th June. On what was supposed to be the happiest day of our lives ended in irreversible heartbreak."
Gad, the Frozen actor, announced Sunday that his 20-year-old nephew Marco died in his sleep.
IT Guy
@ITGuy1959
“The Frozen actor, 41, announced Sunday that his "brilliant, creative and loving" 20-year-old nephew Marco died in his sleep.”
Suddenlyitis tragically strikes again.
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"Healthy young kids rarely died in their sleep before the COVID vaccine rolled out," Kirsch noted in a previous substack post in which he noted the passing of the 17-year-old daughter of Illinois Democrat Rep. Sean Casten.
Gwen Casten was vaccinated and died in her sleep.
Kirsch noted: "Will Sean Casten use this as an opportunity to learn more about how dangerous the vaccines are? Unfortunately, that’s very unlikely to happen. I think he will convince himself that: his daughter’s death was “unexplained,” these unexplained deaths are ONLY happening to vaccinated kids is simply “bad luck” these deaths, which only started happening after the COVID vaccines rolled out, are “unexplained” and continue to be a cheerleader for the COVID vaccines. That’s the real tragedy here."
The following come straight from the vaccine adverse event reporting system VAERS:
• A healthy 7-year-old boy arrived at the hospital in a lethargic and listless state on Feb. 16, 2022, just 13 days after he received the Covid vaccine. The boy went into shock and had a cardiac arrest. The Emergency Department staff was unable to revive him, so pronounced him dead. (VAERS 2152560)
• A 7-year-old girl is found dead in her bed 11 days after vaccination. She developed a mild fever and a cough the day before her death. She tested negative for Covid, but positive for flu like several others in her family. She died on Dec. 10, 2021 (VAERS 1975356)
• An 8-year-old boy from Mississippi died 7 days after his second dose of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine after being found blue and lifeless at home. He was rushed to the hospital with a full code in process. A pulse was detected several times, but the boy ultimately died in the ICU. The medical report noted anaphylaxis, shock-associated circulatory or cardiac conditions and possible multisystem inflammatory syndrome. He did not have COVID but had been vomiting in the hours prior to his death on Feb 11, 2022. (VAERS 2109625)
• A healthy 13-year-old Michigan County boy died in his sleep three days after getting his second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in mid-June. He had complained of fever and fatigue after the jab. (VAERS 1406840) The autopsy showed Jacob Clynick’s heart was enlarged and had fluid around it, but the subsequent report from the CDC and Michigan authorities denied finding any evidence that the vaccine caused the death of this previously healthy boy with no underlying medical conditions.
"Doctors will tell you: healthy kids do not die in their sleep unexpectedly for no reason," Kirsch wrote. "The COVID vaccine is the most likely cause, hands down, for any child who has been vaccinated with the COVID vaccine and later dies in their sleep."
Kirsch added: "Nobody in mainstream media thinks all of these deaths are a problem."
Here are some tragic reports which demonstrate the stunning new normal:
Tributes Pour Out For TikTok Star Cooper Noriega After Sudden Death
Bayside High student-athlete dies after collapsing during conditioning, Virginia Beach officials say
Visitation for Breathitt County football player announced
Obituary: Tyler Mescher, age 23 of Maria Stein, Ohio died unexpectedly
Port Jefferson High School alumnus, star athlete passes away at 19
Alabama men's basketball manager Charlie Wilson dies unexpectedly
Dayton Shares Statement on Death of Coach Anthony Grant’s Daughter
Baltimore City Public Schools student dies while on field trip in Cecil County
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Re: Coronavirus
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"EU Renews Digital COVID Pass Despite 99% Negative Public Feedback"
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zerohedge.com
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitic...ublic-feedback
"Acting on a proposal of the European Commission, the European Parliament, as expected, voted yesterday to renew the EU Digital Covid Certificate for another year. The vote was 453 for, 119 against and 19 abstentions.
The certificate regulation had been scheduled to expire on June 30. Earlier this month, a delegation from the parliament had already reached a 'political agreement' with the Commission on renewing the certificate, thus making yesterday’s vote virtually a foregone conclusion.
The certificate regulation was originally adopted in June of last year, ostensibly to facilitate 'safe travel' between EU member states. But the EU digital certificate quickly evolved into the model and sometimes infrastructure for the domestic 'health' or Covid passes that would serve to restrict access to many other areas of social life over the following year.
The EU has opted to extend the covid certificate despite the overwhelmingly negative results of a public consultation on the subject that was launched by the European Commission under the heading of 'Have Your Say' and that was open to the public from February 3 to April 8. The consultation elicited over 385,000 responses – almost all of which appear to be opposed to renewal!
In a letter to the European Ombudsman that the French member of the parliament Virginie Joron posted on her Twitter feed, Joron writes:
I read hundreds of responses at random with my team. I did not find any in favor of extending the QR code [i.e. the digital certificate]. Based on this large survey, it seems obvious that virtually all the responses were negative...
The renewal of the Digital Covid Certificate does not mean that it will be immediately applied, but that the infrastructure will remain in place and that it can be applied if and when member states see fit to do so.
The current rules for holding a valid EU Digital Covid Certificate do not only, needless to say, discriminate against the unvaccinated, but also against natural immunity, which is treated as more ephemeral than vaccine-induced immunity.
Proof of completed primary vaccination makes a certificate valid for 270 days; proof of having received a booster dose confers unlimited validity for the moment. On the other hand, proof of 'recovery' – with a positive PCR test being the only accepted proof – only confers 180 days of validity."
zerohedge.comJune 28, 20220 Comments
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Re: Coronavirus
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BREAKING: WE THE PATRIOTS USA JOINS AMERICA'S FRONTLINE DOCTORS IN MOURNING THE LOSS OF DR. VLADIMIR ZELENKO
We are deeply saddened to report that a hero has passed from our midst today. Dr. Vladimir "Zev" Zelenko has died at the age of 48 after a long battle with cancer. As an official partner of the organization he founded, America's Frontline Doctors (AFLDS), we join AFLDS in remembering this true Patriot and American hero. He not only touched lives, he saved them.
Read the full story and Dr. Zelenko's obiturary here.
Contributions in memoriam to Dr. Zelenko's Z-Freedom Foundation may be made in Zev's name by clicking the button below.[URL="https://www.zfreedomfoundation.com/"]
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Re: Coronavirus
Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.substack.com
@JordanSchachtel
·
Jun 29, 2022
Just ran the numbers on Biden Admin's new vax deal w Pfizer.
The old deal gave Pfizer $19.50 a dose. They're now paying > $30. Pfizer raised price by over 50%.
The deal will bring Pfizer $9.5 billion. Their expected revenue is > $100B this year, shattering records.
Criminal.
Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.substack.com
@JordanSchachtel
·
Follow
None of the shots will be delivered under an FDA approved label.
And there is no real evidence the juice works for current strains
Additionally, there are already 100s of millions of unused doses sitting around, which makes this whole op resemble a sketchy laundering operation.
8:04 PM · Jun 29, 2022
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Re: Coronavirus
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/202...oddlers-video/
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FDA Panel Advisor Admits Agency “LOST” Clinical Trial Data for Placebo Group Before Approving Experimental Vaccine for Babies and Toddlers (Video)
Earlier this month the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the mRNA vaccine for emergency use in young children, aged six months to five years old, after its advisory committee voted in favor of the experimental treatment, claiming that it has passed its clinical hurdles and is effective in preventing symptomatic infection without causing worrisome side effects.
However, in addition to ignoring the mountain of evidence showing the vaccines are regularly causing life-threatening injuries – especially in healthy children and young people, the FDA ‘experts’ have routinely skipped crucial steps in the testing process, allowing them to manipulate the data in order to suit their desired outcomes.
This inexcusable act of criminal malpractice was confirmed this month by the team leader of the FDA’s clinical review staff, Rachel Zhang, who explained during an advisory panel zoom call that the agency had lost the results from the placebo group during its clinical trials related to the decision to approve the experimental jab for America’s youngest children.
Without this data from the placebo group, the effectiveness of the vaccine cannot be measured against those who did not receive the treatment. Therefore, the clinical trial is meaningless. But the gaping hole in the results apparently doesn’t matter to the ‘experts’ at the FDA, who went ahead with the EUA approval anyway.“There is no efficacy data,” Zhang explained. “I guess it will have to come from real-world effectiveness,” she added glibly.
In other words, babies and toddlers are essentially vaccine guinea pigs that will provide the lost data. Remember, Zheng is the team leader of the FDA’s clinical review staff, which oversees the approval of new medical treatments.
embedded video
also on Rumble
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/202...oddlers-video/
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Re: Coronavirus
https://trib247.com/articles/moderna...ign=Newsletter
Moderna vaccine increases rate of myocarditis for young adults by 44 times — peer-reviewed study
by: WorldTribune.com 06/30/2022 Source: WorldTribune.com
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A peer reviewed study out of France has discovered mRNA Covid vaccines astronomically increase rates of potentially fatal myocarditis.
The study found the risk for the Moderna vaccine was the highest, increasing risk of myocarditis in young adults aged 18 to 24 by 44 times. For the Pfizer vaccine, the risk was found to increase by 13 times.
Incredibly, these numbers under-represent the total number of Covid-vaccine-related myocarditis cases.
The French study limited its sample groups to hospital discharge diagnoses. Therefore, it does not include cases who may have died before arriving at a hospital. It also does not include individuals whose symptoms were not severe enough to result in hospitalization, or those who have myocarditis but are not yet aware they do.
The study's design also did not include the effect of boosters, as they are not recommended for young adults in France. They are, however, mandated by colleges, universities, and many employers in the United States without regard to age or natural immunity.
Myocarditis is a potentially life threatening inflammation of the heart. It took the life of 16-year-old Ernest Ramirez, Jr. on a basketball court five days after he received the Pfizer vaccine. It has been associated with an unprecedented number of deaths among professional athletes in 2021 and 2022.
Related: Father of son killed by Covid vaccine reports enticement to fraud by FEMA, June 9, 2022
Related: Report has compiled 937 serious health issues, 620 deaths, for athletes after covid shots, April 21, 2022
By comparison, COVID-19 itself was found to increase risk of myocarditis by 9%. The result is, using this under-representative data set, that for young adults, the risk of suffering myocarditis is at least 8 and 30 times greater than the risk from infection itself, for the Pfizer and Moderna shots, respectively.
As Dr. Peter McCullough has pointed out, the relative risk from the vaccines is even higher, because a person might not contract Covid, thereby avoiding these risks altogether. Similarly, later variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been proving less harmful. By contrast, repeated vaccination through boosters may have a cumulative negative effect.
Related: Dr. McCullough: Risk of dying from the vaccine appears greater than of dying from Covid, November 2, 2021
Related: Dr. McCullough: Don't let your kids get the Covid vaccine, March 8, 2022
Dr. Sanjay Verma, MD, a cardiologist, believes that the CDC’s earlier findings suggesting the risk of myocarditis is greater from Covid infection than from mRNA vaccines were erroneously inflated by a factor of 4.5 times. The cause of this is that the CDC used officially confirmed PCR positive test numbers as the total number of infected. In reality, the data shows PCR testing recorded less than a quarter of all cases.
“Seroprevalence data as of Feb 21, 2022, reveals 75 percent (about 54 million) of all children have been infected compared to 12 million officially confirmed PCR+ ‘cases’,” Dr. Verma told the Epoch Times in an email.
“Thus far, CDC has not adjusted its COVID-19 morbidity and mortality data accordingly,” Dr. Verma added.
The French study examined 1,612 cases of myocarditis and 1,613 cases of pericarditis in France from May 12, 2021, to Oct. 31, 2021, from a population of 32 million people aged 12 to 50 years who received 46 million doses of mRNA vaccines.
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Re: Coronavirus
Dachsie comment:
Be sure to seek the help of a doctor that you know won't automatically answer your question like "Doctor, do you think my having gotten the COVID vaccine could be causing my problems? by the doctor replying like "No, the vaccine has nothing to do with your symptoms."
There probably is a big difference in the quality of care you will see for your health problems from a doctor who responds in that way to such a question and a response that replies by telling you that 'yes, the vaccine appears to cause heart symptoms in some patients, so I will certainly take that information under consideration and make it a part of your record.'
_____________________
MYOCARDITIS
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/myocarditis/symptoms-causes/syc-20352539
Overview
Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle (myocardium). The inflammation can reduce the heart's ability to pump blood. Myocarditis can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, and rapid or irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias).
Infection with a virus is one cause of myocarditis. Sometimes a drug reaction or general inflammatory condition causes myocarditis.
Severe myocarditis weakens the heart so that the rest of the body doesn't get enough blood. Clots can form in the heart, leading to a stroke or heart attack.
Treatment for myocarditis may include medications, procedures or surgeries.
Symptoms
Some people with early myocarditis don't have symptoms. Others have mild symptoms.
Common myocarditis symptoms include:
Chest pain
Fatigue
Swelling of the legs, ankles and feet
Rapid or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmias)
Shortness of breath, at rest or during activity
Light-headedness or feeling like you might faint
Flu-like symptoms such as headache, body aches, joint pain, fever or sore throat
Sometimes, myocarditis symptoms are like a heart attack. If you are having unexplained chest pain and shortness of breath, seek emergency medical help.
Myocarditis in children
When children develop myocarditis, symptoms may include:
Breathing difficulties
Chest pain
Fainting
Fever
Rapid breathing
Rapid or irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
When to see a doctor
Contact your health care provider if you have symptoms of myocarditis. Symptoms of myocarditis can seem like a heart attack. Get emergency medical help if you have unexplained chest pain, rapid heartbeats or shortness of breath.
If you have severe symptoms, go to the emergency room or call for emergency medical help.
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Causes
Myocarditis may be caused by infections, some drugs and chemicals, or a condition that causes body-wide inflammation. Often, the cause of myocarditis isn't found.
Potential causes of myocarditis include:
Viruses. Many viruses have been linked to myocarditis, including those that cause the common cold (adenovirus); COVID-19; hepatitis B and C; parvovirus, which causes a mild rash, usually in children (fifth disease); and herpes simplex virus.
Gastrointestinal infections (echoviruses), mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus) and German measles (rubella) also can cause myocarditis. Myocarditis can also be caused by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Bacteria. Bacteria that can cause myocarditis include staphylococcus, streptococcus, and bacteria that cause diphtheria and Lyme disease.
Parasites. Among these are Trypanosoma cruzi and toxoplasma. Some parasites are transmitted by insects and can cause a condition called Chagas disease. Chagas disease is much more common in Central and South America than in the United States.
Fungi. A fungal infection may cause myocarditis, particularly in people with weakened immune systems. Those linked to myocarditis include yeast infections, such as candida; molds, such as aspergillus; and histoplasma, often found in bird droppings.
Myocarditis may also be caused by:
Certain medications or illegal drugs (drug-induced myocarditis). These include drugs used to treat cancer; antibiotics, such as penicillin and sulfonamide drugs; some anti-seizure medications; and cocaine.
Chemicals or radiation. Exposure to carbon monoxide and radiation can sometimes cause heart muscle inflammation.
Other inflammatory diseases. Conditions that may cause myocarditis include lupus, Wegener's granulomatosis, giant cell arteritis and Takayasu's arteritis.
Complications
Usually, myocarditis goes away without permanent complications. However, severe myocarditis can permanently damage the heart muscle.
Potential complications of myocarditis may include:
Heart failure. Untreated, myocarditis can damage the heart muscle so that it can't pump blood well. In severe cases, myocarditis-related heart failure may require a ventricular assist device or a heart transplant.
Heart attack or stroke. If the heart muscle is injured and can't pump blood, the blood that collects in the heart can form clots. A heart attack can occur if a clot blocks one of the heart (coronary) arteries. A stroke can occur if a blood clot in the heart travels to an artery leading to the brain.
Rapid or irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias). Damage to the heart muscle can change how the heart beats. Certain arrhythmias increase the risk of stroke.
Sudden cardiac death. Certain serious arrhythmias can cause the heart to stop beating (sudden cardiac arrest). It's deadly if not treated immediately (sudden cardiac death).
Prevention
There's no specific prevention for myocarditis. However, taking these steps to prevent infections might help:
Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Stay away from people with symptoms of the flu or other respiratory illness until they've recovered. If you're sick with symptoms of a viral infection, try to avoid exposing others.
Wash your hands regularly. Frequent hand-washing is one of the best ways to avoid getting sick and spreading illness.
Avoid risky behaviors. To reduce the chances of getting an HIV-related myocardial infection, practice safe sex and don't use illegal drugs.
Get recommended vaccines. Stay up to date on the recommended vaccines, including those that protect against COVID-19, influenza and rubella — diseases that can cause myocarditis. Rarely, the COVID-19 vaccine can cause inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) and inflammation of the outer heart lining (pericarditis), particularly in males ages 12 to 29. Talk to your health care provider about the benefits and risks of vaccines.
By Mayo Clinic Staff
Myocarditis care at Mayo Clinic
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May 20, 2022
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News from Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic Minute: How myocarditis affects men, athletes Feb. 10, 2022, 04:30 p.m. CDT
Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: COVID-19 infection and the heart Nov. 10, 2021, 03:37 p.m. CDT
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has been recognized as one of the top Cardiology & Heart Surgery hospitals in the nation for 2021-2022 by U.S. News & World Report.
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Re: Coronavirus
07/01/22
•
COVID › News
U.S. Orders 2.5 Million More Monkeypox Vaccine Doses, as CDC Looks to Expand Vaccine for Kids
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The Biden administration today said it ordered 2.5 million more doses of Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos monkeypox vaccine, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was seeking to expand the vaccine for children, despite no known cases yet in children in the U.S.
By
Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D.
__________
07/01/22
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Big Pharma › News
Big Pharma Money ‘Permeates’ World’s Drug Regulatory Agencies, BMJ Investigation Shows
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Over the past decades, regulatory agencies have seen large proportions of their budgets funded by the industry they are sworn to regulate, according to an investigative report published Thursday by The BMJ.
BMJ is British Medical Journal
By
Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D.
__________
07/01/22
COVID › News
29,162 Reports of Deaths After COVID Vaccines, as FDA Tells Vaccine Makers to Make New Boosters Targeting Omicron
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VAERS data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 1,314,594 reports of adverse events from all age groups following COVID-19 vaccines, including 29,162 deaths and 241,226 serious injuries between Dec. 14, 2020, and June 24, 2022.
By
Megan Redshaw
__________
07/01/22
COVID News Watch
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FDA Will Not Require Clinical Trial Data to Authorize Redesigned COVID Boosters + More
The Defender’s COVID NewsWatch provides a roundup of the latest headlines related to the SARS CoV-2 virus, including its origins and COVID vaccines.
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Re: Coronavirus
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Re: Coronavirus
https://www.project-syndicate.org/on...-sachs-2022-05
Did US Biotechnology Help to Create COVID-19? | by Neil L. Harrison & Jeffrey D. Sachs - Project Syndicate
Neil L. Harrison & Jeffrey D. Sachs
11-13 minutes
While blaming China exclusively for COVID-19's apparent emergence in Wuhan, US authorities have suppressed inquiries into the role that US scientific research institutions may have played in creating the conditions for the pandemic. Yet if the coronavirus did indeed come from a lab, US culpability is almost certain.
NEW YORK – When US President Joe Biden asked the United States Intelligence Community to determine the origin of COVID-19, its conclusion was remarkably understated but nonetheless shocking. In a one-page summary, the IC made clear that it could not rule out the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) emerged from a laboratory.
But even more shocking for Americans and the world is an additional point on which the IC remained mum: If the virus did indeed result from laboratory research and experimentation, it was almost certainly created with US biotechnology and know-how that had been made available to researchers in China.
To learn the complete truth about the origins of COVID-19, we need a full, independent investigation not only into the outbreak in Wuhan, China, but also into the relevant US scientific research, international outreach, and technology licensing in the lead-up to the pandemic.
We recently called for such an investigation in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Some might dismiss our reasons for doing so as a “conspiracy theory.” But let us be crystal clear: If the virus did emerge from a laboratory, it almost surely did so accidentally in the normal course of research, possibly going undetected via asymptomatic infection.
It is of course also still possible that the virus had a natural origin. The bottom line is that nobody knows. That is why it is so important to investigate all the relevant information contained in databases available in the US.
Missed Opportunities
Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, the US government has pointed an accusatory finger at China. But while it is true that the first observed COVID-19 cases were in Wuhan, the full story of the outbreak could involve America’s role in researching coronaviruses and in sharing its biotechnology with others around the world, including China.
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US scientists who work with SARS-like coronaviruses regularly create and test dangerous novel variants with the aim of developing drugs and vaccines against them. Such “gain-of-function” research has been conducted for decades, but it has always been controversial, owing to concerns that it could result in an accidental outbreak, or that the techniques and technologies for creating new viruses could end up in the wrong hands. It is reasonable to ask whether SARS-CoV-2 owes its remarkable infectivity to this broader research effort.
Unfortunately, US authorities have sought to suppress this very question. Early in the epidemic, a small group of virologists queried by the US National Institutes of Health told the NIH leadership that SARS-CoV-2 might have arisen from laboratory research, noting that the virus has unusual features that virologists in the US have been using in experiments for years – often with support from the NIH.
How do we know what NIH officials were told, and when? Because we now have publicly available information released by the NIH in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. We know that on February 1, 2020, the NIH held a conference call with a group of top virologists to discuss the possible origin of the virus. On that call, several of the researchers pointed out that laboratory manipulation of the virus was not only possible, but according to some, even likely. At that point, the NIH should have called for an urgent independent investigation. Instead, the NIH has sought to dismiss and discredit this line of inquiry.
Heads in the Sand
Within days of the February 1 call, a group of virologists, including some who were on it, prepared the first draft of a paper on the “Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2.” The final draft was published a month later, in March 2020. Despite the initial observations on February 1 that the virus showed signs of possible laboratory manipulation, the March paper concluded that there was overwhelming evidence that it had emerged from nature.
The authors claimed that the virus could not possibly have come from a laboratory because “the genetic data irrefutably show that SARS-CoV-2 is not derived from any previously used virus backbone.” Yet the single footnote (number 20) backing up that key claim refers to a paper from 2014, which means that the authors’ supposedly “irrefutable evidence” was at least five years out of date.
Owing to their refusal to support an independent investigation of the lab-leak hypothesis, the NIH and other US federal government agencies have been subjected to a wave of FOIA requests from a range of organizations, including US Right to Know and The Intercept. These FOIA disclosures, as well as internet searches and “whistleblower” leaks, have revealed some startling information.
Consider, for example, a March 2018 grant proposal submitted to the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) by EcoHealth Alliance (EHA) and researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and the University of North Carolina (UNC). On page 11, the applicants explain in detail how they intend to alter the genetic code of bat coronaviruses to insert precisely the feature that is the most unusual part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Although DARPA did not approve this grant, the work may have proceeded anyway. We just don’t know. But, thanks to another FOIA request, we do know that this group carried out similar gain-of-function experiments on another coronavirus, the one that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
In yet other cases, FOIA disclosures have been heavily redacted, including a remarkable effort to obscure 290 pages of documents going back to February 2020, including the Strategic Plan for COVID-19 Research drafted that April by the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Such extensive redactions deeply undermine public trust in science, and have only served to invite additional urgent questions from researchers and independent investigators.
The Facts of the Case
Here are ten things that we do know.
First, the SARS-CoV-2 genome is distinguished by a particular 12-nucleotide sequence (the genetic code) that serves to increase its infectivity. The specific amino acid sequence directed by this insertion has been much discussed and is known as a furin cleavage site (FCS).
Second, the FCS has been a target of cutting-edge research since 2006, following the original SARS outbreak of 2003-04. Scientists have long understood that the FCS holds the key to these viruses’ infectivity and pathophysiology.
Third, SARS-CoV-2 is the only virus in the family of SARS-like viruses (sarbecoviruses) known to have an FCS. Interestingly, the specific form of the FCS that is present in SARS-CoV-2 (eight amino acids encoded by 24 nucleotides) is shared with a human sodium channel that has been studied in US labs.
Fourth, the FCS was already so well known as a driver of transmissibility and virulence that a group of US scientists submitted a proposal to the US government in 2018 to study the effect of inserting an FCS into SARS-like viruses found in bats. Although the dangers of this kind of work have been highlighted for some time, these bat viruses were somehow considered to be in a lower-risk category. This exempted them from NIH gain-of-function guidelines, thereby enabling NIH-funded experiments to be carried out at the inadequate BSL-2 safety level.
Fifth, the NIH was a strong supporter of such gain-of-function research, much of which was performed using US-developed biotechnology and executed within an NIH-funded three-way partnership between the EHA, the WIV, and UNC.
Sixth, in 2018, a leading US scientist pursuing this research argued that laboratory manipulation was vital for drug and vaccine discovery, but that increased regulation could stymie progress. Many within the virology community continue to resist sensible calls for enhanced regulation of the most high-risk virus manipulation, including the establishment of a national regulatory body independent of the NIH.
Seventh, the virus was very likely circulating a lot earlier than the standard narrative that dates awareness of the outbreak to late December 2019. We still do not know when parts of the US government became aware of the outbreak, but some scientists were aware of the outbreak as of mid-December.
Eighth, the NIH knew as early as February 1, 2020, that the virus could have emerged as a consequence of NIH-funded laboratory research, but it did not disclose that fundamental fact to the public or to the US Congress.
Ninth, extensive sampling by Chinese authorities of animals in Wuhan wet markets and in the wild has found not a single wild animal harboring the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Despite this, there is no indication that the NIH has requested the laboratory records of US agencies, academic centers, and biotech companies involved in researching and manipulating SARS-like coronaviruses.
Tenth, the IC has not explained why at least some of the US intelligence agencies do in fact believe that a laboratory release was either the most likely or at least a possible origin of the virus.
Time for Transparency
Given the questions that remain unanswered, we are calling on the US government to conduct a bipartisan investigation. We may never understand the origin of SARS-CoV-2 without opening the books of the relevant federal agencies (including the NIH and the Department of Defense), the laboratories they support, academic institutions that store and archive viral sequence data, and biotechnology companies.
A key objective of the investigation would be to shed light on a basic question: Did US researchers undertake research or help their Chinese counterparts to undertake research to insert an FCS into a SARS-like virus, thereby playing a possible role in the creation of novel pathogens like the one that led to the current pandemic?
Investigations into COVID-19’s origins should no longer be secretive ventures led by the IC. The process must be transparent, with all relevant information being released publicly for use by independent scientific researchers. It seems clear to us that there has been a concerted effort to suppress information regarding the earliest events in the outbreak, and to hinder the search for additional evidence that is clearly available within the US. We suggest that a panel of independent researchers in relevant disciplines be created and granted access to all pertinent data in order to advise the US Congress and the public.
There is a good chance that we can learn more about the origins of this virus without waiting on China or any other country, simply by looking in the US. We believe such an inquiry is long overdue.