Slack / Private Message Drop — page 782

[2021-05-11 21:59:18] [Eddie Holmes] Yes, that's biodiversity. No way GOF. [2021-05-11 22:01:46] [Kristian Andersen] They make chimeric viruses in the paper (small part), but still not GOF. [2021-05-11 22:05:31] [Eddie Holmes] Ah, got it. [2021-05-11 22:07:49] [Eddie Holmes] They emailed us! [2021-05-11 22:07:55] [Kristian Andersen] Aaaaaahahahahaha [shared file(s): Upcoming letter in Science] [2021-05-11 22:10:41] [Eddie Holmes] I'm not replying. I just won't be able to control my anger. [2021-05-11 22:13:23] [Kristian Andersen] I'll sleep on it and wait for Andrew/Bob to chime in with what they think. I'm thinking a short email to say thanks and that we'd welcome further discussion (maybe an actual Zoom call? I'd be interested in that). I'll then include my prepared comments: _The core message of the letter is that the origins of COVID-19 should be investigated, which I think we all agree on. The authors are correct that both hypotheses are possible, but current evidence points to a natural origin for SARS-CoV-2, as the WHO and others have concluded._ _Unfortunately, the letter suggests a false equivalence between the lab escape and natural origin scenarios. To this day, no credible evidence has been presented to support the lab leak hypothesis, which remains grounded in speculation. Instead, available scientific data, including those derived from epidemiological, ecological, clinical, and genomic investigations, are consistent with a natural emergence of a novel virus from a zoonotic reservoir, as has been observed so many times in the past._ _I staunchly support further evidence-based studies into the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic and the most effective way to do this would be to continue to build on the work done by the WHO, while ensuring they have the necessary mandate and support. If our main goal is to truly understand what led to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, such studies need to be collaborative and cannot consist of one-sided demands that are unlikely to be met._ [2021-05-11 22:16:24] [Eddie Holmes] No way I'm talking to them. They should ashamed. [2021-05-11 22:16:35] [Kristian Andersen] [thread - ID: 2021-05-11 22:16:35] Appreciate Mike reaching out though - I'm pretty darn sure he must have been the one telling the others that that was going to be necessary. Very interestingly, I talked to Jon earlier today (more on that later) and he mentioned that in the very early days of HIV, Mike was convinced that it came from the polio vaccine - i.e., lab derived... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_polio_vaccine_AIDS_hypothesis