Lancet Covid-19 Commission head denies China’s claims of US pressure for lab leak theory
- Jeffrey Sachs says there is ‘no outside interference whatsoever’ and his views align with what’s being discussed in the scientific community
- It follows accusation by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman that Washington is pressuring scientists
Jeffrey Sachs, a professor of economics at Columbia University in New York, is the chair of the interdisciplinary initiative backed by respected medical journal The Lancet to find solutions to the pandemic.
Chinese state tabloid Global Times had asked at a foreign ministry briefing on Monday about claims that scientists on the commission were being pressured to support the theory that the novel coronavirus had leaked from a lab in Wuhan, the city in China where the first cases were reported.
Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin responded that he had “taken note of this” and said the source of the pressure was the United States government.
“This once again exposes that the US, while claiming to seek science-based origin tracing, is actually engaging in political manipulation under the pretext of the epidemic,” Wang said. “Now they intend to use a sinister ploy on the international scientific community to force scientists to bow in the face of their hegemony, bullying and coercion.”
