High-profile scientists embroiled in the controversy surrounding the origins of Covid-19 have confessed that downplaying the lab leak theory was a political decision. Internal communications obtained by a House subcommittee investigating the early days of the pandemic revealed that scientists who authored a paper dismissing the possibility of a lab accident were concerned about facing backlash from the Chinese government. Dr. Andrew Rambaut, a biologist from the University of Edinburgh, co-authored a research article titled “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2” published in Nature Medicine in March 2020, which dismissed the lab leak theory as conspiracy and racism. Private messages between the scientists indicated that Dr. Rambaut feared blaming China, even for an accidental release of the virus, due to potential geopolitical consequences. Instead, he was willing to attribute it to a natural process.
One of the recipients of this message, Danish biologist Dr. Kristian Andersen, agreed with Dr. Rambaut, acknowledging the injection of politics into science under the circumstances. Dr. Andersen, who works at Scripps Research, provided testimony during a hearing conducted by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in Washington, D.C., on July 11, 2023. Dr. Robert Garry, a Professor at Tulane University School of Medicine, also attended the hearing. The committee convened to listen to medical researchers’ testimonies regarding the origins of Covid-19.
The infamous “proximal origin” paper was commissioned partly by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the United States’ national research agency, which had been funding risky virus research at the Wuhan lab. House Republicans interrogated two doctors involved in the debate on whether the coronavirus emerged naturally or from a Wuhan lab. They presented newly revealed communications from early 2020 as evidence of a cover-up, a claim strongly denied by the scientists. In a pre-hearing report issued by House Republicans, they cited various attempts by these scientists to suppress voices advocating for a more thorough investigation into the lab leak theory.
The witnesses, Dr. Kristian Andersen and Dr. Robert Garry, co-authored the February 2020 report titled “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2,” published shortly after a conference call where prominent scientists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins, received messages from virologists who suspected that certain aspects of the virus seemed man-made. Internal messages revealed that Dr. Andersen, initially considering the possibility of human tampering based on the genomic makeup of the virus, changed his stance just four days later, as demonstrated in an email recovered by the investigative group Right to Know. Dr. Andersen wrote, “The main crackpot theories going around at the moment relate to this virus being somehow engineered with intent, and that is demonstrably not the case.” He also expressed the issue of injecting politics into science while acknowledging its inevitability given the circumstances.
During the hearing, Dr. Wenstrup reprimanded Dr. Andersen for appearing amused when questioned about his involvement, stating, “Grin as you may, Dr. Andersen, grin as you may.” Around the same time, Dutch scientist Dr. Ron Fouchier expressed concern that further discussions about a potential lab leak, whether accidental or intentional, would harm science in general and specifically in China.
House Republican lawmakers, known for their strong stance on China, seized upon what they viewed as excessive consideration and conciliation toward the Chinese Communist Party. Representative Nicole Malliotakis from New York pointed out Dr. Rambaut’s message, indicating that his concern was avoiding upsetting China. She argued that scientists do not change their minds within a matter of 72 hours, unlike politicians. While China has consistently denied originating the virus, speculation about a lab leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, deliberately or accidentally, has been raised by academics, politicians, and the media.
Dr. Andersen and Dr. Garry refuted the accusation of flip-flopping, asserting that they modified their hypothesis based on new information about the virus, which adheres to the scientific method. Republican efforts to determine the exact origin of the virus, whether from a Wuhan wet market or the Wuhan Institute of Virology, have focused on revealing the inner workings of scientific authorities like Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins, also known as “the Bethesda Boys” among Republicans. The issue has become highly politicized, with certain scientists, including Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins, being labeled as biased in favor of theories supported by Democrats and entrenched government scientists, such as the zoonotic transmission theory.
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