Scientists have discovered a new wild coronavirus that closely resembles Covid-19 and is located 1,000 miles from Wuhan. Named TyRo-CoV-162275, this virus has the same cleavage site that Covid-19 has been known for, raising the possibility that Covid-19 originated in the wild and not in a lab. Moreover, researchers also found that this new virus is up to 98 percent identical to those found in pangolins, an animal long suspected of transmitting Covid-19 to humans.
The famous Danish infectious disease expert, Dr. Kristian Andersen, supports this idea and believes that the science behind the natural origin theory will only grow stronger with time. However, after admitting the likelihood of a lab leak, Dr. Andersen publicly condemned the lab leak theory, even though the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) was experimenting with similar viruses in the years leading up to the pandemic. Meanwhile, other experts claim to have found Covid-19’s predecessor in bats hundreds of miles away from Wuhan.
The scientists’ findings come as a piece of evidence supporting a natural origin for Covid-19, despite controversy. Dr. Lawrence Young, a virologist, supports a natural origin theory and believes that developing a pan-Covid vaccine is vital regardless of the virus’s origin. However, Dr. Richard Ebright, a chemical biologist, dismisses the new findings, arguing that the viruses detected in bats are not related to SARS viruses and that Covid-like viruses should not only be found hundreds of miles away from Wuhan.
The discovery of TyRo-CoV-162275 and the debate over its origin come at a time when another mysterious pneumonia-like illness has been spreading in Chinese schools, raising eyebrows and reminding the world of the early days of the Covid-19 outbreak. As the world eagerly awaits answers, the search for the true origins of Covid-19 continues.
