2 straightforward reasons why I don't think a lab origin of Omicron is on the table.
1. Afaik there's no lab in Africa doing serial passaging of SARS2.
2. There're thousands of people (and potentially animals) infected in the region so it is unsurprising new variants emerge.
1. Afaik there's no lab in Africa doing serial passaging of SARS2.
2. There're thousands of people (and potentially animals) infected in the region so it is unsurprising new variants emerge.
These are the same reasons that make a good case for a lab #OriginOfCovid
1. There are scientists in Wuhan conducting exactly the type of research that could've led to the emergence of SARS2.
2. There wasn't evidence of SARS-like viruses circulating in Wuhan prior to Covid-19.
1. There are scientists in Wuhan conducting exactly the type of research that could've led to the emergence of SARS2.
2. There wasn't evidence of SARS-like viruses circulating in Wuhan prior to Covid-19.
If we don't want to keep being surprised by new variants with lots of new mutations in them, we should step up global sequencing efforts and think of ways to help countries get the pandemic resources they need.
https://twitter.com/Ayjchan/status/1467484165213990920
We know SARS2 has infected people in the lab thanks to FOIAs by @USRightToKnow
"an experienced scientist was infected with SARS-CoV-2 while working in a premier virology lab in Beijing"
There have probably been many lab-acquired infections of SARS2.
usrtk.org/biohazards/sen…
"an experienced scientist was infected with SARS-CoV-2 while working in a premier virology lab in Beijing"
There have probably been many lab-acquired infections of SARS2.
usrtk.org/biohazards/sen…
Which is why I hope people working with SARS2 in the lab are not secretly trying risky experiments like serial passaging of live SARS2 virus or making chimera with SARS1 and SARS2...
https://twitter.com/Ayjchan/status/1463492780509089802
But unless a novel variant emerges in connection (location or contact tracing) with a lab that is known to conduct the type of experiments that could lead to novel variants...
My default assumption would be a natural origin of novel variants.
My default assumption would be a natural origin of novel variants.
You cannot blast a virus through 300 million people (an undercount) across every continent, across diverse human genotypes and health conditions, and even across dozens of animal species without expecting continuous emergence of novel variants.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
