Relman: Wuhan Lab Accident Most Plausible COVID Origin — SkimNews
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- David Relman, a Stanford professor of medicine and microbiology, describes the July 29 Rand Paul-hosted hearing with Anthony Fauci as a painful spectacle and the broader origins debate as plagued by politicization and polarization.
- Both Rand Paul and Anthony Fauci are partially correct: NIH-funded risky bat coronavirus research did occur in Wuhan, but the published work does not reveal a plausible COVID-19 precursor virus — and much research remains unpublished.
- A lab accident in Wuhan is the most plausible COVID-19 origin, Relman writes, citing the type of work conducted there, Chinese researchers' apparent knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 before late December 2019, and thousands of negative tests from suspect animal reservoirs.
- Six years on, neither natural spillover nor lab accident has been proven — the virus has not been found in nature or in a lab, and each hypothesis remains supported only by circumstantial evidence.
- Relman calls for an objective, transparent forensic investigation with broad international engagement, proper authorities, and accountability — plus new guardrails for risky experiments and balanced public oversight of research trade-offs.
Why it matters: With the virus never identified in nature or a lab and both hypotheses still viable, Relman's call for an objective forensic investigation puts pressure on the US and Chinese governments to allow access to Wuhan records and viral samples. Without that, trust in science, scientists, and government — and readiness for the next pandemic — remains compromised.
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