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Alina Chan Profile picture
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22 Dec, 5 tweets, 2 min read
Drop everything and read this BBC article now #originsofSARSCoV2 bbc.com/news/world-asi…
"Asked about seeking access to the Wuhan lab to rule the lab-leak theory out, (Daszak on @WHO + @thelancet origins committees) said: "That's not my job to do that.

"The WHO negotiated the terms of reference.. and that's what we've got to do," he added.
Daniel Lucey: "So here we are, 12, 13 months out since the first recognised case of Covid-19 and we haven't found the animal source... So, to me, it's all the more reason to investigate alternative explanations."
Shi Zhengli: "All our research results are published in English journals in the form of papers.. Virus sequences are saved in the [US-run] GenBank database too. It's completely transparent."

I don't know of any active labs whose results are all published all the time.
So where were the 2017 and 2018 sequences from RaTG13 sitting for the past 3 years?

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More from @Ayjchan

Alina Chan Profile picture
22 Dec
A single event "sent viruses to at least 29 other states and 9 countries.. resulting in 100ks of infections.. One of the surprising things is the extent.. viruses can spread so quickly, particularly when younger, healthier people are involved who don’t realize they are infected."
".. the ultimate impact to society can paradoxically be greater when chains of transmission involve younger, healthier, and more mobile populations. That has important implications for the precautions people need to take, even after vaccination."
"people who have been vaccinated could still be infected, carrying and transmitting the virus, without feeling sick. Until we know more, it is critical that those who have been vaccinated still wear masks, practice physical distancing, and take other precautions to avoid spread."
Read 4 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
22 Dec
I'm going to try and put this riveting BBC story in context for people who haven't heard about the 2012 Mojiang miners and a potential link to covid/SARS2 before. bbc.com/news/world-asi…
In 2012, miners working in a mine full of bats in Mojiang, Yunnan, China succumbed to a mysterious pneumonia. According to a medical thesis, these were likely caused by a SARS-like bat virus from the mine. Several experts, including WIV, were consulted and tested patient samples.
These cases have "been given new meaning by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Those three deaths are now at the centre of a major scientific controversy about the origins of the virus and the question of whether it came from nature, or from a laboratory."
Read 24 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
22 Dec
Yes, I think the panic may be causing more damage in terms of exodus from highly infected areas into the rest of the country (UK). Similar to how the Europe travel ban just made more Americans flock back home, bringing scores of the virus into the US in early 2020.
Really want to reinforce that there is a great deal of agency - personal agency - in the control of covid outbreaks.

People deciding not to attend crowded events, whether it's work, social (weddings, holiday parties), religious - can make all of the difference.
Maybe after proper experiments, it turns out that the new variant in the UK does actually lead to 2x more virus replication (still an unknown!). But it doesn't mean that covid has become suddenly unstoppable.

You can still stop transmission. With your personal decisions.
Read 4 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
20 Dec
Media reporting of covid seems to be getting more nuanced and accurate! “That does not mean the mutation has made it spread more easily, nor does it not necessarily mean this variation is more dangerous.”
cnn.com/2020/12/20/uk/…
“Multiple experts in the genetics and epidemiology of viruses are noting that this one could be just a "lucky" strain that's been amplified because of a superspreader event...”
“Jeremy Farrar said, "Research is ongoing to understand more, but acting urgently now is critical. There is no part of the UK & globally that should not be concerned.”
Read 4 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
16 Dec
This is why we need both sequencing of circulating sars2 virus and extensive testing and contact tracing. It will help to figure out whether the faster spread of a particular variant is due to a new set of mutations or due to a superspreading event. washingtonpost.com/health/british…
There’s a reason why superspreading events are called superspreading events. The spread is explosive, reaching beyond the event itself into new communities and infecting dozens of people who didn’t even attend the event. washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/12…
“A new analysis of the Biogen event at a Boston hotel has concluded that the coronavirus strains loosed at the meeting have since migrated worldwide, infecting about 245,000 Americans — and potentially as many as 300,000 — by the end of October.”

nytimes.com/2020/12/11/us/…
Read 4 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
15 Dec
More than 83,000 pages of emails FOIA’ed from Ralph Baric by @USRightToKnow
@USRightToKnow sets the context for some of the emails (doc 1, p963) that relate to a discussion by top experts on 3 Feb 2020, convened by NASEM to inform White House OSTP.

Questions I have on top of those raised by @sai_suryan in the USRTK article...

usrtk.org/biohazards-blo…
From the first draft of the letter, where it states the initial view of the experts is that SARS2 genomic data are consistent with natural evolution, there is a footnote (5) saying "possibly add brief explanation that this does not preclude an unintentional release from a lab..."
Read 27 tweets

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