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Alina Chan Profile picture
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26 Jun, 8 tweets, 8 min read
So... @LastWeekTonight @iamjohnoliver

@washingtonpost has been covering #LabLeak since Nov

@colbertlateshow @StephenAtHome @jonstewart talked about the novel coronavirus having the same name as the Wuhan institute (first name & last name)

@nytimes broke today

You up? 🧪🧪👩‍🔬
@LastWeekTonight @iamjohnoliver @washingtonpost @colbertlateshow @StephenAtHome @jonstewart @nytimes I have just been informed that the proper way of doing this is:

U up?
.@LastWeekTonight covered the growing risk of a natural pandemic this Feb.

It would be great if a future episode informs the public of the 21st century risk of a lab-based pandemic.

A pandemic in 1977 was lab-based. SARS classic leaked 6 times from labs.
There is no mandatory reporting of lab-acquired infections in the USA. Only accidents involving select agents are reported (unsure how many go unreported), and the frequency was more than 4 times per week in 2019 in the US alone. h/t @alisonannyoung
@alisonannyoung Dozens of BSL4 (highest biosafety level) labs spread across the globe. With dozens of new BSL4 labs planned in the next 5 years h/t @FilippaLentzos @gregkoblentz And no map for BSL3 or BSL2 labs working with potential human pathogens.
globalbiolabs.org/map
@alisonannyoung @FilippaLentzos @gregkoblentz Guangdong "would build up to 30 pathogen protection biosafety level-3 (P3 or BSL-3) labs and at least one BSL-4 facility, the most advanced in the worldwide biosafety hierarchy, in the next five years."
asiatimes.com/2020/07/china-…
FYI

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More from @Ayjchan

Alina Chan Profile picture
27 Jun
This might be the most extensive article written in support of natural origins of Covid-19 that I've seen. I think this was an incredibly well-written piece @factcheckdotorg @jjmcdona with well-rounded quotes from respected experts in the field.
factcheck.org/2021/06/sciche…
@factcheckdotorg @jjmcdona If I can summarize the top 3 points for natural origins, it would be these, according to the article and interviews with experts:

(1) There is no direct evidence of a lab accident or SARS2 having existed in a lab. Instead, we have observed SARS2-like viruses in nature.
(2) An early cluster of Covid-19 in Wuhan was based at a live animal market. The vendors might’ve hidden their illegal animals when they heard there was an outbreak. China has not tested enough animals to find the animal source of the outbreak.
Read 14 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
25 Jun
Thank you very much @antonioregalado for thinking I was worthy of a profile in @techreview for my work on #OriginsOfCovid

And @rowanjacobsen and @BostonMagazine who thought so back in June 2020.

bostonmagazine.com/news/2020/09/0…
technologyreview.com/2021/06/25/102…
@antonioregalado @techreview @rowanjacobsen @BostonMagazine This question from @antonioregalado is worth thinking about for people on both sides of the issue.

"I asked Chan how she would feel if the virus did prove to have emerged naturally..."

How would people (especially scientists) feel if the virus proves to have come from a lab?
@antonioregalado @techreview @rowanjacobsen @BostonMagazine I said “I have days where I think this could be natural. And if it’s natural, then I’ve done a terrible thing because I’ve put a lot of scientists in a very dangerous spot by saying that they could be the source of an accident that resulted in millions of people dying.”
Read 4 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
25 Jun
This ⁦@nytimes⁩ piece by ⁦@zeynep⁩ should break whatever is left of the dam on the lab origin hypothesis.

Thank you for correcting many of the public misunderstandings surrounding this issue. nytimes.com/2021/06/25/opi…
Last month, top scientists came together to publish a letter in a top scientific journal calling for a credible investigation into both natural and lab origin hypotheses.

science.sciencemag.org/content/372/65…
Shortly after, @POTUS asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts in collecting and analyzing information that could bring us closer to a conclusion, distinguishing between natural vs lab origins. Their report is due in August.

whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…
Read 9 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
24 Jun
“The practical consequence of removing the sequences.. is that no one knew they existed prior to now, and they were not in the databases used.. for the joint WHO-China report” - ⁦@jbloom_lab⁩

Thanks ⁦@alisonannyoung⁩ for this piece. 🏆 usatoday.com/story/opinion/…
The @WHO spokesperson told @alisonannyoung “We are aware of this report and, as we repeatedly asked, we hope that all data on early cases will be made available.”

I can’t handle any more of this. We should not be tasking WHO with investigating #OriginsOfCovid They have no power.
We have entered a futile cycle of asking @WHO to investigate one of their most powerful members, WHO sending experts (some with immense COIs) to China, who have no leverage (or even mandate) to investigate all plausible hypotheses, 🌎 being horrified by the work, rinse & repeat.
Read 12 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
22 Jun
1. Wuhan University deleted SARS2 data relating to early cases
2. @jbloom_lab recovered the data
3. Identified virus sequences that could precede the official "first" SARS2 sequence from China
4. Analysis suggests SARS2 was circulating in Wuhan before Huanan seafood market
@jbloom_lab
Read 13 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
22 Jun
WIV "researchers signed pledges to protect confidential information.. don’t mean [WIV] has anything to do with the virus’s origin, or.. there’s anything nefarious about its classified projects.. US also conducts classified.. research"
h/t @alisonannyoung
washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pac…
@alisonannyoung "In 2019 in the US alone, 219 accidental releases of “select agents” — deadly viruses or toxins — and 13 lost samples were recorded by U.S. regulators."

That's >4 accidental releases a week in the US in 2019, not including accidents involving non-select agent pathogens.
@alisonannyoung What this report by @evadou tells us is that it's very difficult to know what classified projects are underway in labs around the world; personnel are trained not to disclose. Not every research project is published online or in papers or even in theses.
Read 5 tweets

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