Thread by @DrEricDing

NEW—The coronavirus was in the US in mid-December 2019, a few weeks before it was officially identified in China, according to CDC analysis of blood donation samples. This also matches waste water analysis that found virus earlier in Europe. 🧵 #COVID19
wsj.com/articles/covid…

2) This also matches early indicator data that already found excess flu illnesses in Hubei province (where Wuhan is) in early December as well.

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1333594728672210946

3) here is the earlier waste water study of #SARSCoV2 coronavirus in cities in Northern Italy in mid December already. This matches the reports that it’s been circulating in December before Wuhan outbreak was realized.

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1273941929970020355

4) that said, some think the study might be picking up cross reactivity with other coronaviruses that are seasonally present. I think we need T cell immunity tests coming online soon like @AdaptiveBiotech to be more sure.

https://twitter.com/trvrb/status/1333647437869633537

5) CNN also reports it. The study was peer reviewed in a medical journal—not merely a preprint. And it was by CDC scientists. It has some credibility. cnn.com/world/live-new…

6) For full transparency, here is the peer reviewed study in the journal CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES, published by Oxford University Press, with CDC authors. There is some debate about study. I will post updates. academic.oup.com/cid/advance-ar…

7) For those wondering who is the senior corresponding author of the paper, it is Dr Natalie Thornburg, of CDC’s Respiratory Viruses Branch, Team Leader for respiratory viruses immunology. cdc.gov/ncird/dvd.html

8) and then there was this report from April 2020 about November 2019. Any other major outlets reported this too. abcnews.go.com/Politics/intel…