Thread by @emmecola

Big news from China on the search of the #OriginOfCovid - Head of Chinese WHO team attacks @MichaelWorobey paper: "unscientific to conclude that some early cases living close to the market was proof that it was the origin of the community transmission." 1/
archive.md/ybb2a

"Liang said Worobey did not verify the identity of a patient featured in The Paper’s video report. He said the first identified Covid-19 case did visit the hospital between December 6-8, and was accompanying a family member for a tooth extraction." 2/

"However, he also started experiencing cold-like symptoms such as headaches and dizziness on December 8. The female vendor from Huanan Market who had symptom onset on December 11, mentioned in the Science article, was not the first known Covid-19 case."

In short, Worobey had ruled out the Dec 8 case (who was not linked to the market) and wrote that the earliest known case was a woman who worked at the market. Now China says he is wrong, and puts the Dec 8 case back in the spotlight (of course without providing any new data) 🤷🏻‍♂️

One of the biggest issues is how can we get reliable information from China. Without reliable info, scientists find themselves in a difficult position, as they try to connect dots and draw conclusions based on sparse evidence and crumbles of data.

Here's Worobey's reply

https://twitter.com/MichaelWorobey/status/1470158996585660420?t=flIuaH4wiCVzHm6SjASkOw&s=19