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Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Saturday that if the definition of lab leak meant that someone was infected in the wild and went “into a lab,” was studied in a lab, and then “came out of the lab,” a coronavirus lab leak could still be considered a “natural occurrence.”
On Saturday, Fauci appeared on CNN with Jim Acosta and speculated on how a coronavirus lab leak could have occurred.
“A lab leak could occur when someone was out in the field, perhaps looking for different types of viruses in bats, became infected, went into a lab, was studied in a lab, and then left the lab. However, if that is the definition of a lab leak, then it is still a natural occurrence “Fauci stated.
Another possibility, he said, was that a virus “accidentally” escaped a lab after being taken from the environment.
“The other possibility is that someone takes a virus from the environment that doesn’t actually spread very well in humans, manipulates it a little, and it accidentally escapes or infects someone, and then you get an outbreak,” he explained.
Fauci also stated that no lab leaks have resulted in a pandemic.
“There have been accidents in the lab, but no lab leaks have resulted in pandemics. That happens on occasion. We’ve had recent experiences with this, but there has never been a situation in which a virus escaped from a lab that was a brand-new virus that no one had ever seen before and caused a pandemic. That has not occurred “He stated.
Acosta also asked Fauci if his thinking on a possible coronavirus lab leak has evolved at all.
“I’ve kept an open mind throughout the entire process, Jim. What has changed in the last few months to a year or so is what I mentioned earlier: as evolutionary virologists dug deeper and deeper into this and analyzed it from a variety of perspectives, epidemiologically, virologically, and geospatially, they published two very important, well-written, peer-reviewed papers in Science Magazine strongly suggesting that, in fact, it was a natural occurrence from an animal to a human. But strongly implying, Jim, does not establish it definitively. And it is for this reason that I continue to maintain an open mind about the origin “He replied.
For months, Fauci has stated that, while keeping a “completely open mind,” he believed evidence pointed away from a lab leak.
On Sunday, some conservatives and others reacted to Fauci’s remarks.
“The absolute knots you must tie yourself into to maintain the previously approved opinions on Covid origins, mask mandate efficacy, and school closures,” tweeted Mary Katharine Ham.
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