Fauci dismisses coronavirus lab origin claims as ‘circular argument’
- Leading US health official says evidence strongly indicates virus originated in the wild and jumped species
- The well-regarded doctor has also warned of a second wave of infections in the US later in the year
In an interview with National Geographic, Fauci, a member of Trump’s White House coronavirus task force, said the virus likely originated from an animal source. He described the possibility that the virus had accidentally escaped from a lab as a “circular argument”.
“If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and what’s out there now, [the scientific evidence] is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated – the way the mutations have naturally evolved,” he said.
“A number of very qualified evolutionary biologists have said that everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that [this virus] evolved in nature and then jumped species.”
Fauci also said there was a risk of a second wave of infections in the US later in the year, as states were beginning to reopen businesses, if the country was not prepared with enough tests and supplies for its health system.