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Alina Chan Profile picture
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Jan 27 • 9 tweets • 5 min read
I sometimes get the question "Aren't you afraid pushing for an investigation of a lab #OriginOfCovid will fuel dangerous conspiracy theories?"

I think scientists who appear to have conspired to suppress an investigation into a lab origin are the ones fueling conspiracy theories.
Do these highly redacted emails inspire public trust in science?
Does finding out that top scientific leaders in the US and UK planned to put their own members into the World Health Organization #OriginOfCovid group and put pressure on them inspire public trust in science?
Did putting Peter Daszak, president of the EcoHealth Alliance on both the @WHO and @TheLancet #OriginOfCovid teams build public trust in science?
science.org/content/articl…
@WHO @TheLancet As far as I can tell, there has been no accountability for these behaviors or measures taken to protect against future situations where experts might abuse their influence/authority to suppress investigations or inquiries that are detrimental to their own interests.
@WHO @TheLancet Even worse for the rest of the world, there has been no new regulation to put a stop to the collection & creation of potential pandemic pathogens.

Making a bird flu virus that can kill more than half of us more transmissible by air? Scientists did that a decade ago...
Making a hybrid of SARS1 (10% mortality) and SARS2? Ongoing work. Make sure to let the US CDC know by mid-February.

It's starting to make me think that the @WalkingDead_AMC portrayal of labs self-detonating in response to pathogen-related accidents may not be that overblown after all.
If experts truly want to put an end to dangerous conspiracy theories, be transparent (release unredacted emails), acknowledge competing interests & instances where politics has affected science, express remorse, make amends, implement oversight to prevent a repeat of mistakes.

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More from @Ayjchan

Alina Chan Profile picture
Jan 28
If there was any science behind the rapid change of mind regarding a potential/likely lab #OriginOfCovid among the Proximal Origin authors, please share it with the world.

What was the evidence that emerged between Feb 2-4, 2020, that persuaded you SARS-CoV-2 was 100% natural?
The scientists implicated in this #OriginOfCovid drama can easily demonstrate the scientific process if there was any.

They should also amend Proximal Origin so all contributions are acknowledged. Why obscure the leadership provided by scientific leaders?
If people are worried that emails are getting taken out of context, you're welcome to peruse them yourselves:
documentcloud.org/documents/2079…

documentcloud.org/documents/2104…

documentcloud.org/documents/2104…

h/t @JamesCTobias
Read 13 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
Jan 24
The @WHO 2021 #OriginOfCovid study was not scientific. We don't need a repeat.

"Chinese counterpart eventually agreed to discuss the lab-leak theory in the report “on the condition we didn’t recommend any specific studies to further that hypothesis.”"
washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/…
@WHO Troublingly, 5 out of 10 @WHO-convened international members of the 2021 team that signed off on the unscientific report is on the new SAGO team.
who.int/groups/scienti…
Countries cannot expect the @WHO SAGO effort to be a credible and thorough investigation of the #OriginOfCovid

Each country that cares about not having a pandemic happen again in the near future should initiate their own investigations free of competing interests.
Read 17 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
Jan 24
Many people ask, what is the direct evidence for a lab #OriginOfCovid

If anyone had produced direct evidence of a lab or a natural origin, do you think we'd still be arguing about it 2 years later?

We need an investigation because we need to search for this direct evidence.
What can be said is that a natural #OriginOfCovid has been investigated much more thoroughly than a lab origin, at least publicly.

And the 2-year search for an intermediate host or original animal source of SARS-CoV-2 has found not a shred of direct evidence for a market origin.
.@TheLancet @richardhorton1 writes: "Proponents of a laboratory leak have so far provided no evidence to undermine this [Huanan market origin] explanation."

He might be unaware that even pro-natural origin investigators have failed to find evidence...
thelancet.com/journals/lance…
Read 7 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
Jan 23
Because when everything you've done is above board, your legally FOIA'ed emails are massively redacted and the lead author of the Proximal Origin letter suddenly had ~5,000 of his tweets "auto-delete".
thetimes.co.uk/article/spectr…
And when you're not trying to cover up anything, you need to confer with the unacknowledged contributors to the paper as to how to explain the origin of Proximal Origin to journalists.
And when you're following the science, you need to stack the @WHO #OriginOfCovid group with your friends and put pressure on the group.
Read 4 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
Jan 22
Although a formal #OriginOfCovid investigation has yet to happen, it's good to reflect that scientific progress has been made.

1 year ago, experts were comparing me to QAnon and calling a lab accident, concealed to hide incompetence, a conspiracy theory.
nature.com/articles/s4159… Image
The hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 might have been genetically engineered was breathlessly compared to the US insurrection.

Afaik there has yet to be any evidence that SARS-CoV-2 was not genetically engineered...
On the other hand, we saw a deluge of documents released in late 2021 pointing to gain of function research + a 2018 roadmap for inserting novel cleavage sites into novel SARS-like viruses (this genetic engineering could've produced SARS-CoV-2). theintercept.com/2021/09/23/cor…
Read 6 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
Jan 22
An interview I did with @NathanJRobinson @curaffairs
"we have to start taking into account new risks & new sources of outbreaks. To not take steps to address this.. would be to put millions of lives at risk.. the old risks are real & so are the new risks"
currentaffairs.org/2022/01/how-di…
@NathanJRobinson @curaffairs On the gain of function debate, @NathanJRobinson pointed out that "someone’s gonna be proven right, and someone’s gonna be proven wrong... it’s the argument that some people have been making half their lives. So it’s all wrapped up in their identity."
I believe the above is the reason why, even though we can all broadly agree that the Covid-19 pandemic might've started due to a lab accident, so few public measures have been taken to make pathogen research more transparent or safe.
Read 6 tweets

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