Chat message

Slack / Private Message Drop, p.818 [SLACK_001032] · slack_pm:msg:08529

Date: 2021-05-15 17:41
Type: chat message · slack
recipient: Robert F. Garry, Edward C. Holmes, Andrew Rambaut
speaker: Kristian G. Andersen
Topics: Lab-leak / accidental release hypothesis

Recipients on this medium are inferred from channel membership, not per-message addressing.

That's the thing - there's a huge bias towards "something odd here" when things go wrong. But HKU1 is exactly the same - minus severe disease. I can guarantee you that if H1N1 had been worse, the lab leak theory of its origin would also not have gone away.

Extracted statements

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Statement	Grade	Attribution	Stance
I can guarantee you that if H1N1 had been worse, the lab leak theory of its origin would also not have gone away.	own voice, substantive	speaker_own	asserts

Statement

Grade

Attribution

Stance

I can guarantee you that if H1N1 had been worse, the lab leak theory of its origin would also not have gone away.

own voice, substantive

speaker_own

asserts

In context

A single line often inverts meaning once you see what it answers, so neighbouring messages are always shown.

2021-05-15 17:37 Kristian G. Andersen open

Yeah, reading it now - it really is exactly the same story all over again. Except, more benign virus.
2021-05-15 17:38 Kristian G. Andersen open

This is good - because if we can kill the "Wuhan isn't so special", it'll help turn over a lot of people. Would also help ifwe had a good sense of where major labs are.
2021-05-15 17:38 Edward C. Holmes open

Initially a pneumonia patient.
2021-05-15 17:40 Edward C. Holmes open

As there was no major outbreak of pneumonia people lost interest, but it's all there.
2021-05-15 17:41 Kristian G. Andersen

That's the thing - there's a huge bias towards "something odd here" when things go wrong. But HKU1 is exactly the same - minus severe disease. I can guarantee you that if H1N1 had been worse, the lab leak theory of its origin would also not have gone away.
2021-05-15 17:42 Edward C. Holmes open

Totally. I think the HKU1 story is hugely instructive.
2021-05-15 17:43 Kristian G. Andersen open

Eddie - would it be possible to get some data on wildlife markets in China from your contacts? Maybe that journo? I'm wondering if we could plot number or markets (or similar) across a map and show an association. Would be_hugely_ instructive, but I have no idea if Wuhan is special, or not, when it comes to these types of markets.
2021-05-15 17:43 Edward C. Holmes open

I'll see what I can do.
2021-05-15 17:43 Kristian G. Andersen open

I swear, if we can nail the "Wuhan" part, our job will be done.

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