How did COVID-19 start? Another report supports ‘Lab Leak’ theory

Republicans in the US Senate who looked into the origin of the virus speculate that COVID-19 may have originated from a lab leak, however they stress that there isn’t conclusive proof of this.

It’s concerning since the lab leak theory is “not motivated by scientific fact”, said Gigi Gronvall. According to the senior scholar and immunologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the data supporting an animal trading origin is “very solid”.

The virus that caused COVID-19 might have started from a lab leak, according to US Senate Republicans who looked into its origins; however, they emphasise that the findings are inconclusive.

Also Read: Tastes like milk tea: Here comes China’s ‘needle-free’ inhalable COVID-19 vaccine

The study should serve as a guide for the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international institutions and scholars, said ranking member of the panel Sen. Richard Burr.

Despite the fact that the research was first made public by Burr’s team, Senate HELP Chair Patty Murray indicated she was still committed to cooperating with Burr on a probe into the origins of COVID-19. The bipartisan pandemic preparation legislation (S. 3799) that the HELP Committee endorsed in March, according to Murray, included undertaking a complete review of how COVID-19 initially evolved.

Also Read: You may still get COVID even if you’re vaccinated; watch out for these 5 symptoms

However, the formation of a separate task force to look into the COVID-19 genesis was recommended by the bill, so that there is no such similar situation again as it is crucial that everyone takes note of the lessons from this pandemic, Murray said.

(With agency inputs)