Coronavirus: new call for fresh look at natural and lab origin theories
- Two possibilities not given balanced consideration in WHO mission, 18 scientists say in public letter
- Researcher on WHO team says there is a complete lack of data pointing to a lab accident
In an open letter published in Science magazine on Friday, 18 prominent scientists said theories about both natural and laboratory spillovers of the novel coronavirus should be taken seriously until there was sufficient data.
“The two theories were not given balanced consideration,” the letter said, referring to the joint investigation.
The report of that mission, released in March, said the hypothesis of the virus originating in bats and spilling over to people through an intermediary animal host was “likely to very likely”, while a lab accident was “extremely unlikely”.
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WHO ends Covid-19 mission in Wuhan, says lab leak ‘extremely unlikely’
Peter Daszak, president of NGO EcoHealth Alliance and a member of the joint investigation team, defended the mission’s work.