A Director of National Intelligence (DNI) report released on Friday said the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) had been conducting coronavirus experiments in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was “collaborating” with the Chinese military.
WIV provided financial support and its staff conducted experiments from 2017 to 2019 to improve our understanding of the Chinese virus. [the] Military Defense and Biosecurity Needs” according to to the report. However, the DNI determined that the coronavirus being studied by WIV researchers and People’s Liberation Army (PLA)-affiliated scientists was unlikely to be the cause of COVID-19. (Related: New Evidence of Chinese Military “Shadow Lab” at Wuhan Institute of Virology)
According to the report, “cooperation” between WIV researchers and PLA personnel focused on “biosafety and biosecurity projects.” PLA researchers have also used his WIV lab for coronavirus- and vaccine-related research, working closely with WIV personnel to develop virus-related “remedies.”
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The first three patients infected with COVID-19 were WIV researchers. according to A recent report by journalists Michael Schellenberger, Matt Tybi and Alex Gutentag.
The DNI report appeared to contradict the journalist’s findings, stating that “several WIV researchers reported symptoms in the fall of 2019, and several WIV researchers reported symptoms in the fall of 2019.” It has said. Some of their symptoms were consistent with COVID-19, but did not lead to a diagnosis,” he added, adding that “the symptoms could have been caused by many diseases.”
According to the report, WIV researchers have until January 2019 tested the novel coronavirus in a BSL-2 lab (biosafety level 2), which is safer than a BSL-1 lab but less safe than a BSL-4 lab. I was doing a similar experiment with the coronavirus. The researchers “despite acknowledging in 2017 the ability of these viruses to directly infect humans via the spike protein and warning of the dangers of this practice in early 2019,” said the researchers. I took
The DNI findings suggest that some researchers likely did not practice “adequate biosafety precautions when working with coronaviruses like SARS, at least for some time prior to the pandemic,” It acknowledges that it may have increased the risk of accidental exposure to the virus.
The DNI report is based on recently uncovered State Department cables showing that the PLA had been operating a “shadow lab” at the WIV since August 2020.
U.S. Department of Energy Determines Most Likely Origin of COVID-19 Pandemic Emerged from Chinese Lab, Wall Street Journal report in February. The DNI report came to a different conclusion, stating that the novel coronavirus disease was “probably caused by natural exposure to infected animals carrying SARS-CoV-2 or a progenitor virus more than 99 percent similar to SARSCoV. is high,” he said. -2”
Data researched by the DNI in collaboration with the broader intelligence community suggests that the study between the WIV and the PLA consisted of multiple coronaviruses, but the report does not identify which of these viruses. also said it was unlikely to be a precursor to the new coronavirus, which was only recently discovered. 2019.
“This report does not mention the merits of the two hypotheses most likely for the origin of the pandemic, nor does it explore other biological facilities in Wuhan besides the WIV,” said the DNI executive. stated in the summary.
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