Thread by @Ayjchan

The danger in insisting on the 'natural spillover' idea with no solid evidence is that it could lead to initiatives that limit our capacity to make dangerous virus research safer and get ahead of lab escapes. The amount of risky pathogen research is rapidly expanding globally.

https://twitter.com/ProfPCDoherty/status/1412988638950871045

I understand that a lot of scientists have an unshakeable faith in the leak-proofiness of BSL4s (still not accident-proof; SARS1 escaped once from a BSL4 lab in 2003).

But the live virus SARSrCoV work at WIV was performed at BSL2!

https://twitter.com/Ayjchan/status/1404910994896396288

There are cell culture hoods and good ventilation in BSL2 TC rooms. But just ask any scientist who works at BSL2 how frequently they hear about someone else touching door handles with their gloves on or cleaning up spills in the centrifuges. Or how often they get contamination.

BSL2 is not an appropriate biosafety level for working with infectious SARS-related coronaviruses. Especially the ones you've already determined can replicate in human cells and use the human ACE2 receptor.

h/t @Akselfrids for writing an article pointing out the WIV paper and thesis stating that their live virus SARSrCoV work was performed at BSL2.

https://twitter.com/Ayjchan/status/1397877973404065793

English version of the @Minervanett article: "The PhD dissertation, however, clearly states that the proliferation and cell infection experiments of live viruses (including recombinant viruses) were performed in a BSL2 (Biosafety level 2) laboratory."
minervanett.no/china-drastic-…

@Minervanett Some are asking for better regulation of pathogen research regardless of Covid origins. I'm with you, but it seems like it's not moving the leaders who have the authority and power to push for those regulations. Their strategy is MORE pathogen research.

https://twitter.com/Ayjchan/status/1369824489505177600

MORE pandemic preparedness by conducting MORE virus hunting and pathogen research across MORE countries.

*Biosafety level is determined by the country where the research is conducted.

https://twitter.com/Ayjchan/status/1409883516247158789

So... in other words, more of the same research (any new regulation?) that didn't help to prevent or find a cure or vaccine to this pandemic, but might have even potentially caused it.

Will the funders actually have an excel spreadsheet tracking the pathogen samples this time?

This situation...

Virologists say that virologists are unlikely to have caused the pandemic.

Virologists say that more virology (and more funding for virologists) is needed to prevent a future pandemic.