WAS COVID-19 the virus that was the subject of gain-of-function research conducted by American researchers in conjunction with the Wuhan Institute of Virology? We may never know the answer to this question since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has not been willing to share information with the rest of the world. Even so, some background on the Wuhan Institute, the staff, and how the Chinese government responded provides some clues as to what may have happened.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) was originally founded in 1956 as the Wuhan Microbiology Laboratory. The Institute has operated under the jurisdiction of the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 1978. The Institute’s labs range from Biosafety Level II (BSL-2) to Biosafety Level IV (BSL-4). BSL-4 labs can be used for research with dangerous agents and substances.
The WIV BSL-4 LAB, which is of interest in the COVID-19 debacle, was developed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in partnership with France following the 2003 SARS pandemic. Almost immediately after the project was undertaken, French officials expressed discomfort because it was suspected that the PRC had a biological warfare program and the BSL-4 lab might be used for the purpose of developing biological weapons. To mitigate this concern, the parties agreed that all PRC/French research projects would be conducted under the supervision of French researchers on site at the lab. This did not, however, resolve the issue.
Disagreements between the parties continued. The French obtained information that led them to think that the PRC intended to build several BSL-4 labs. There were ongoing disputes over construction. After the lab opened, the French became alarmed when the PRC requested biohazard suits that offered protection beyond what would have been necessary based on the research that should have been going on in the lab.
Of concern to everyone is the influence the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had and continues to have on the Institute. High-level CCP officials serve on committees that decide the projects that will be undertaken in the lab and are also placed in management positions.
Accidents at the lab have been another concern. For example, during a one-month period in 2004, the PRC reported nine new cases of SARS related to an accident during research using both live and inactivated samples of SARS-CoV.1
The Institute is headed by Dr. Shi Zheng-Li, who is known as China’s “Bat Woman” because she has spent a significant portion of her career collecting bat viruses to make vaccines.2 Her colleagues include scientists and physicians who have close ties to both the political and military leadership of the PRC. An example is Guo Deyin, who has conducted research on AIDS and hepatitis vaccines, as well as genetic recombination methods.
Dr. Shi’s Research at WIV
In a 2010 paper, Shi and her colleagues reported the results of their research on angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) protein, which is a known SARS-CoV receptor. The group looked at ACE2 molecules from seven bat species and tested the interaction of the ACE2 receptor with the human SARS-CoV spike protein. They used HIV-based pseudo type and live SARS-CoV infection assays. Spike proteins are structures that allow coronaviruses to bind to the receptor sites on human cells.
The researchers found that the ACE2s of two bat species – Myotis daubentoni and Rhinolophus sinicus were susceptible to SARS-CoV and might be candidates as the natural host of the SARS-CoV progenitor viruses.3
Shi was also a member of the Chinese research team that was involved in the controversial gain-of-function research financed by the U.S. government, and conducted in partnership with a research team at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. In a paper published in 2015 in Nature Medicine the group characterized a chimeric virus with the spike protein SHC014 that was able to use multiple genes of the SARS receptor human angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2) and “replicate efficiently in primary human airway cells and achieve in vitro titers equivalent to epidemic strains of SARS-Cov.” In other words, this virus could infect humans and quickly replicate. The article specifically stated, “…we synthetically re-derived an infectious full-length SHC014 recombinant virus and demonstrate robust viral replication both in vitro and in vivo.”
Furthermore, the team also reported replication of the chimeric virus in the lungs of mice. Most important, therapies typically used to treat SARS patients were found to be ineffective for treating the chimeric virus and vaccines did not prevent “infection with CoVs using the novel spike protein.”4
The bottom line: Researchers at the Wuhan lab were conducting research on bat viruses, were successful on at least one occasion in developing one that could infect humans, and this virus seemed to be resistant to treatment and prevention with vaccines.
The Outbreak Begins in China
There are significant discrepancies concerning the timeline and the actual events surrounding the outbreak. Stories changed, information was withheld, and important evidence was destroyed. For a long time, the World Health Organization reported almost verbatim information provided by the Chinese government, and based its recommendations based on that data. Even after it was discovered that the government had incorrectly (and it appears deliberately) attributed the outbreak to the Huanan Seafood Market, WHO made no effort to intervene or to discipline China for its misrepresentation.
Following is the timeline for events and how information became available in China, along with the WHO response:
The virus was first reported in Wuhan in Hubei Province, the largest city in Central China with a population of 11.2 million people in December 2019. There are varying accounts from the CCP concerning both when the first case was reported and when the CCP knew about it.
The first official announcement was issued on December 30, 2019 when the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission reported that “cases of pneumonia of unknown cause” were linked to the Huanan Seafood Market, which sold live wild animals in addition to seafood, including hedgehogs, badgers, snakes, and turtledoves. It was also stated there was no evidence of “obvious human to human transmission and no infection among medical personnel.”5
Also, on December 30, 2019, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission issued an “urgent notice” to medical institutions ordering them to track and report cases right away to various district CDC’s and to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission.
But it appears that late December was not the actual beginning of the outbreak. In March 2020, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported that according to the Chinese government, the first known patient was a 55-year-old from Hubei who became ill on November 17, 2019.6
According to another article published in the Lancet on January 20, 2020, doctors from a Wuhan hospital reported that of the first 41 cases later identified as having COVID-19, the first one of those had symptoms on December 1, 2019.7 Based on the incubation period, this person most likely was infected in November.
Gao Fu, Director of the China Centers for Disease Control, denied this, stating that “There is no solid evidence to say we already had clusters in November.”8 Chinese authorities later stated that the first known patient experienced symptoms on December 8, 2019.9
On January 1, 2020, the Huanan Seafood Market was closed for cleaning. Vendors reported that workers had started spraying disinfectant on December 30, 2019.10
Scientists from China’s National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention collected 515 samples from the Huanan Seafood Market for analysis on January 1, 2020 and returned to collect 70 more samples from vendors after the market re-opened.
At the same time, an official at the Hubei Provincial Health Commission ordered gene sequencing companies and labs to stop testing and to destroy all patient samples.11
On January 2, 2020 an analysis of samples from patients at Wuhan’s Jinyintan Hospital by researchers at Wuhan Institute of Virology identified the novel coronavirus.12
On January 3, 2020 the Wuhan Municipal Commission reported that 44 patients had been identified with symptoms consistent with “pneumonia of unknown origin” some of whom worked at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market and 11 of whom were severely ill.13
January 5, 2020
The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission announced that it had identified 59 patients with symptoms consistent with “pneumonia of unknown origin.” It stated that a preliminary investigation had uncovered no “clear evidence of human-to-human transmission” or infections among medical workers.14
Shi and her team asked the World Health Organization to register SARS-CoV-2 as a new virus, H-nCoV-19, rather than another virus derived from SARS.15
January 5, 2020
This statement was posted by WHO:
On 31 December 2019, the WHO China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown cause) detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. As of 3 January 2020, a total of 44 patients with pneumonia of unknown etiology have been reported to WHO by the national authorities in China. Of the 44 cases reported, 11 are severely ill, while the remaining 33 patients are in stable condition. According to media reports, the concerned market in Wuhan was closed on 1 January 2020 for environmental sanitation and disinfection.
The causal agent has not yet been identified or confirmed. On 1 January 2020, WHO requested further information from national authorities to assess the risk.
National authorities report that all patients are isolated and receiving treatment in Wuhan medical institutions. The clinical signs and symptoms are mainly fever, with a few patients having difficulty in breathing, and chest radiographs showing invasive lesions of both lungs.
According to the authorities, some patients were operating dealers or vendors in the Huanan Seafood market. Based on the preliminary information from the Chinese investigation team, no evidence of significant human-to-human transmission and no health care worker infections have been reported.16
The WHO also posted this statement:
The reported link to a wholesale fish and live animal market could indicate an exposure link to animals. The symptoms reported among the patients are common to several respiratory diseases, and pneumonia is common in the winter season; however, the occurrence of 44 cases of pneumonia requiring hospitalization clustered in space and time should be handled prudently.17
In other words, the WHO was repeating the Chinese claim that the virus originated in the seafood market and gave the impression that there was no reason for concern.
January 7, 2020
A team led by Professor Yong-Zhen Zhang of Fudan University in Shanghai identified a novel coronavirus and sequenced its genome. The team reported its work to Chinese authorities and submitted the sequence to GenBank, a genetic sequence database operated by the U.S. National Institutes of Health that serves as “an annotated collection of all publicly available DNA sequences.” The team also submitted an article to the journal Nature detailing the team’s sequencing of the novel coronavirus.18
According to a March 26, 2020 paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine, China CDC also completed genomic sequencing of the novel coronavirus on January 7, 2020.19
China’s National Health Commission issued a directive on management of biological samples in major infectious disease outbreaks. The directive “ordered institutions not to publish any information related to the unknown disease, and ordered labs to transfer any samples they had to designated testing institutions, or to destroy them.”20
January 9, 2020
WHO issued this statement: “WHO does not recommend any specific measures for travelers. WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions on China based on the information currently available.”21
January 10, 2020
WHO issues “Advice for International Travel and Trade in Relation to the Outbreak of Pneumonia Caused by a New Coronavirus in China.” The agency recommended against entry screening for travelers, stating, “It is generally considered that entry screening offers little benefit, while requiring considerable resources.”
Simply repeating information provided from the Chinese government, WHO states, “From the currently available information, preliminary investigation suggests that there is no significant human-to-human transmission, and no infections among health care workers have occurred.”22
January 11, 2020
The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission announced the first death of a coronavirus patient, a 61-year-old man who was a long-time customer of the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. The commission states again that it had not found evidence of person-to-person transmission or infections among health care workers.23
WHO tweets, “BREAKING: WHO has received the genetic sequences for the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from the Chinese authorities. We expect them to be made publicly available as soon as possible.”24
China later said the Chinese institutions that jointly shared the genomic sequence with WHO are China CDC, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as designated agencies of the National Health Commission.25
But remember, on January 7, 2020 Chinese officials ordered samples to be sent to specific institutions or destroyed.
January 12, 2020
WHO issued this statement: “China shared the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus on 12 January, which will be of great importance for other countries to use in developing specific diagnostic tests.” WHO also stated, “The evidence is highly suggestive that the outbreak is associated with exposures in one seafood market in Wuhan. The market was closed on 1 January 2020. At this stage, there is no infection among healthcare workers, and no clear evidence of human to human transmission.”26
January 14, 2020
WHO tweets, “Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCov) identified in #Wuhan, #China.”27
January 26, 2020
The Institute of Virology and Chinese CDC announced that the novel coronavirus was present in 33 of the 585 environmental samples collected from the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market earlier in the month. Of these 33 samples, all but two were collected from an area of the market where wildlife vendors were located. Xinhua News Service says the results indicate “the virus stems from wild animals on sale at the market.”28
Almost immediately, however, published research showed that the market could not have been the source of the outbreak. The co-authors of an article published in the Lancet, including experts from Wuhan’s leading infectious disease hospital, reported that among the first 41 patients identified in Wuhan, the first patient to show symptoms, on December 1, 2019, had no exposure to the market. Two of the next three patients to show symptoms, all on December 10, also had no exposure to the market. “No epidemiological link was found between the first patient and later cases,” the researchers wrote. And, in fact, there were 13 patients with no link to the market.29
“That’s a big number, 13, with no link,” stated Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease specialist at Georgetown University, who went on to say that the Lancet paper raised questions about the overall accuracy of the data the CCP was providing to the world.
According to Lucey, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission was the “official source” of public information and on January 11, 2020 reported that that there were only 41 confirmed patients, that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission, and that most cases were related to the market. Because the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission noted that diagnostic tests had confirmed these 41 cases by January 10, 2020 and officials presumably knew the case histories of each patient, Lucey said “China must have realized the epidemic did not originate in that Wuhan Huanan seafood market.”30
Kristian Andersen, an evolutionary biologist at the Scripps Research Institute, analyzed sequences of 2019-nCoV to try to clarify its origin. Andersen posted an analysis of 27 available genomes of COVID-19 on a virology website and suggested they had a “most recent common ancestor”—meaning a common source—as early as 1 October 2019.31
An article published in the Lancet on January 30, 2020 reported that of 99 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between Jan 1 and Jan 20, 2020, forty-nine had been exposed to the Huanan Seafood Market, and 50 had not.32 And an article in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that of 425 confirmed cases, the majority (55%) with onset before January 1, 2020 were linked to seafood market, although this was true for only 8.6% of subsequent cases.33 The theory that the seafood market was the source of the outbreak and that the virus was not transmissible between humans was falling apart.
It is important to note that the First National Health Commission arrived in Wuhan December 31, 2019 and determined that in order to diagnose SARS-CoV-2, three criteria needed to be met: a history of exposure to the seafood market, fever, and the full genome from respiratory or serum specimens identical to SARS-CoV-2 sequences.34
The timeline above, however, indicates that the Chinese knew that one third had no contact with the seafood market when these criteria were established. So why were these criteria established? To mislead the world about the origin of the virus? The criteria were not changed until January 18, 2020 but on January 26, 2020 Chinese authorities were still claiming that the virus originated at the seafood market.
So where did this virus originate?
A sample of bronchoalveolar fluid from a single patient hospitalized on December 26, 2019 identified a new RNA virus strain most closely related (89.1% nucleotide similarity) to a group of SARS-like coronaviruses previously found in bats in China. The researchers noted that although SARS-like viruses have been identified widely in bats in China, viruses identical to SARS-CoV had not yet been documented. They noted that the Wuhan coronavirus was most closely related to bat coronaviruses, and showed 100% amino acid similarity to bat SL-CoVZC45 in the nsp7 and E proteins.35 The problem is that there were no bats at the seafood market, which means that the virus could not have originated there.
In a paper published in the Lancet, researchers wrote, “Notably, 2019-nCoV was closely related (with 88% identity) to two bat-derived severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-like coronaviruses, bat-SL-CoVZC45 and bat-SL-CoVZXC21, collected in 2018 in Zhoushan, in eastern China.”36 The researchers were referring to a 2018 paper which reported the results of an analysis of 334 bats collected between 2015 and 2017 from Zhoushan City in Zhejiang province China. Coronaviruses were detected in 26.65% of these bats, and the viruses had 81% shared nucleotide identity with human/civet SARSCoVs.37 This sounds complicated and it is, but what this means is that the Wuhan virus was very similar to bat viruses. Yet there were no bats at the seafood market. Also remember that “the bat lady” – Shi - had been studying bat viruses at the WIV for an exceptionally long time.
Again, the CCP was not forthcoming. The Shanghai lab where researchers published the first genome sequence of the coronavirus that caused COVID-19 was shut down by the Shanghai Health Commission for “rectification” on January 12, 2020, five days after Professor Yong-Zhen Zhang’s team published the genome sequence and made it available to the public. The team had reported that the virus resembled a group of viruses previously found in bats. This lab was a Level 3 biosafety facility and had just passed its annual inspection on January 5, 2020.38
Indian researchers also studied the virus and found four insertions in the spike protein that are unique to SARS-CoV-2 and not present in other coronaviruses. The amino acid residues in all four insertions were found to be similar to amino acid residues in the structural proteins of HIV-1. The researchers noted that there are only 3 viruses that contain these sequences – HIV-1, the bat coronaviruses discovered by Shi, and the New Wuhan virus (COVID-19). They also noted that it was highly unlikely that this could have occurred naturally.39
This article was later withdrawn without comment. And notes from a lecture delivered by Shi shortly before the outbreak began disappeared from the Institute website.
The CCP’s order to labs to destroy samples, and its refusal to share information and samples to the world community has not helped to instill confidence in the integrity of Chinese officials and their representations concerning the virus.40
More Interesting Info About Chinese Institutions
On January 21, 2020, The Wuhan Institute of Virology applied for a Chinese patent on Gilead’s Remdesivir.41
Jiang Mianheng is the eldest son of former CCP leader Jiang Zemin.42 Mianheng created the Shanghai Institute of Life Sciences, along with several medical facilities including hospitals in Shanghai and hospitals for the military. He has served as Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.43 Jiang Zhicheng is Mianheng’s son and owns controlling interest in Wuki AppTec, which controls Fosun Pharma,44 China’s agent for remdesivir. Fosun Pharma partnered with BioNTech to develop and introduce an nRNA vaccine for COVID-19.45
Five whistleblowers who reported irregularities at the Wuhan lab are missing and one is dead. Dr. Li Wenliang tried to warn the world about the virus. The police sent him a letter shortly before his death warning that “if he refused to repent he would be punished.” He reportedly died of COVID-19 at the age of 34.
It seems that people who dare to speak up about how COVID-19 is handled in China do not fare well.
The World Health Organization
The World Health Organization’s response to COVID-19 was not in accordance with its own guidelines. WHO officials ignored a warning from the University of Hong Kong Center of Infection issued on January 4, 2020. The UHK School of Public Health has been a WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control since 2014. Dr. Ho Chung Man notified WHO that based on the number of cases, it was likely that human-to-human transmission had already begun.
WHO guidelines also require that WHO notify member states as soon as possible even when unofficial reports concerning infectious disease outbreaks are received.
Director-General Tedros should have known by January 23, 2020 that the seafood market was not the source of the outbreak; that human-to-human transmission was taking place; that healthcare workers were being infected; and that at least four other countries had reported cases in addition to Hong Kong and Taiwan. He declined to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), and instead visited Beijing. While there he praised the CCP’s handling of the virus, and praised the CCP for its “transparency” in sharing information with the WHO and the rest of the world. Seven days later he declared a PHEIC. People have hypothesized that the reason for the delay was because of Tedros’ relationship with Xi, and the fact that Xi’s wife is on the goodwill council of WHO.
Even after the U.S. instituted travel restrictions on January 31, 2020, Tedros continued to insist that this was not necessary and would “…interfere with international travel and trade.”49
Unanswered Questions
At this time, there is no way to know if the outbreak started at the WIV, or the actual origin of the virus.
Both the CCP and the WHO owe the world an explanation for the decisions and actions taken during the last several months. The CCP needs to explain the following to the world:
As for Tedros and the WHO, the world needs to know:
As you will later learn, Tedros also needs to explain why he declared SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic when the number of cases did not indicate that it was, and why he has failed to withdraw the pandemic label even today when the cases and deaths do not justify the designation. Perhaps most importantly, Tedros should be asked why he and the WHO – the organization that is supposed to protect the health of the world’s seven billion people - stood by while most countries adopted disastrous and draconian policies that harmed more people than were helped.
ENDNOTES
1. The Origins of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic, Including the Roles of the Chinese Communist Party and the World Health Organization. House Foreign Affairs Committee Minority Staff Interim Report. June 12. 2020 https://gop-foreignaffairs.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Interim-Minority-Report-on-the-Origins-of-the-COVID-19-Global-Pandemic-Including-the-Roles-of-the-CCP-and-WHO-8.17.20.pdf accessed 9.1.2020
2. Jane Qiu “How China’s ‘Bat Woman’ Hunted Down Viruses from SARS to the New Coronavirus.” Scientific American June 1 2020
3. Hou Y, Peng C, Yu M et al. “Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) proteins of different bat species confer variable susceptibility to SATS-CoV entry.” Arch Virol 2010;155(10):1563-1569
4. Menachery VD, Yount BL, Debbink K et al. “A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence.” Nat Med 2015 Nov;21:1508-1513
5. Zhang Jingshu and Wang Ruiwen Editor: Li Jie. Wuhan Central Hospital claims that SARS rumors spread through the internet, there is no doubt that the patient may be diagnosed. Beijing News 12.31.2019 http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2019/12/31/668421.html accessed 9.1.2020
6. Josephine Ma. Coronavirus: China’s First Confirmed Covid-19 Case Traced Back to November 17. South China Morning Post, March 13 2020, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3074991/coronavirus-chinas-first-confirmed-covid-19-case-traced-back. Accessed 8.11.2020
7. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X et al. “Clinical Features of Patients Infected with 2019 Novel Coronavirus in Wuhan, China.” Lancet, 2020 Feb;395(10223):P497-506
8. Cohen J. “Not Wearing Masks to Protect Against Coronavirus Is a ‘Big Mistake,’ Top Chinese Scientist Says.” Science, March 27, 2020, https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/not-wearing-masks-protect-against-coronavirus-big-mistake-top-chinese-scientist-says. Accessed 9.1.2020
9. Zhang Y. The Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Emergency Response Epidemiology Team. “The Epidemiological Characteristics of an Outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19)—China, 2020,” China CDC Weekly, 2020 Feb;2(8): 113-122.
10. Seafood market closed after outbreak of ‘unidentified’ pneumonia. Global Times Jan 1 2020 https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1175369.shtml accessed 9.1.2020
11. The Origins of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic, Including the Roles of the Chinese Communist Party and the World Health Organization. House Foreign Affairs Committee Minority Staff Interim Report. June 12. 2020 https://gop-foreignaffairs.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Interim-Minority-Report-on-the-Origins-of-the-COVID-19-Global-Pandemic-Including-the-Roles-of-the-CCP-and-WHO-8.17.20.pdf accessed 9.1.2020
12. Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) 16-24 Feb 2020 https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf accessed 9.1.2020
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14. Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) 16-24 Feb 2020 https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf accessed 9.1.2020
15. Jiang S, Shi Z, Shu Y et al. “A distinct name is needed for the new coronavirus.” Lancet 2020 Mar;395(10228):949
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17. IBID
18. Wu F, Zhao S, Yu B et al. “A New Coronavirus Associated with Human Respiratory Disease in China.” Nature 2020 Mar;579(7798):265-269
19. Li Q, Guan X, Wu P et al. “Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia.” NEJM 2020 Mar;382(13):1199-1207
20. Gao Yu, Peng Yanfeng, Yang Rui, et al., “In Depth: How Early Signs of a SARS-Like Virus Were Spotted, Spread, and Throttled.” Caixin Global February 29, 2020,
21. World Health Organization. WHO Statement regarding cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China. Jan 9 2020 https://www.who.int/china/news/detail/09-01-2020-who-statement-regarding-cluster-of-pneumonia-cases-in-wuhan-china
22. Advice for International Travel and Trade in Relation to the Outbreak of Pneumonia Caused by a New Coronavirus in China. World Health Organization January 10, 2020 https://www.who.int/news-room/articles-detail/who-advice-for-international-travel-and-trade-in-relation-to-the-outbreak-of-pneumonia-caused-by-a-new-coronavirus-in-china accessed 9.1.2020
23. Andrew Joseph. “First death from Wuhan pneumonia outbreak reported as scientists release DNA sequence of virus.” STAT Jan 11 2020 https://www.statnews.com/2020/01/11/first-death-from-wuhan-pneumonia-outbreak-reported-as-scientists-release-dna-sequence-of-virus/ accessed 9.1.2020
24. World Health Organization https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1216108498188230657 accessed 9.1.2020
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27. https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1217043229427761152
28. China Detects Large Quantity of Novel Coronavirus at Wuhan Seafood Market. XinhuaNet January 27, 2020 http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-01/27/c_138735677.htm accessed 9.1.2020
29. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X et al. “Clinical Features of Patients Infected with 2019 Novel Coronavirus in Wuhan, China.” Lancet, 2020 Feb;395(10223):P497-506
30. Jon Cohen. Wuhan seafood market may not be source of novel virus spreading globally. Science Jan 26 2020 https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/wuhan-seafood-market-may-not-be-source-novel-virus-spreading-globally accessed 9.1.2020
31. Clock and TMRCA based on 27 genomes. Novel 2019 coronavirus. Genomic Epidemiology https://virological.org/t/clock-and-tmrca-based-on-27-genomes/347
32. Chen N, Zhou M, Dong X, Qu J, Gong F, Han Y. “Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study.” Lancet 2020 Feb;395(10223):P507-513
33. Li Q, Med M, Guan X et al. “Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia.” NEJM 2020 Mar;382:1199-1207
34. Han Y, Yang H. “The transmission and diagnosis of 2019 novel coronavirus infection disease (COVID-19): A Chinese perspective.” J Med Virol 2020 Mar;92:639-644
35. Wu F, Zhao S, Yu B et al. “A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China.” Nature 2020 Feb;579:265-269
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37. Hu D, Zhu C, Ai L et al. “Genomic characterization and infectivity of a novel SARS-like coronavirus in Chinese bats.” Emerg Microbes Infect 2018 Sep;7:154
38. Zhuang Pinghui “Chinese laboratory that first shared coronavirus genome with world ordered to close for ‘rectification’, hindering its Covid-19 research.” South China Morning Post Feb 28 2020 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3052966/chinese-laboratory-first-shared-coronavirus-genome-world-ordered accessed 9.1.2020
39. Pradhan P, Pandley AK, Mishra A et al. “Uncanny similarity of unique inserts in the 2019-nCoV spike protein to HIV-1 gp120 and Gag.” BioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.30.927871
40. IBID
41. Wuhan Institute of Virology Applies for a Patent on Gilead’s Remdesivir. The National Law Review Feb 6 2020 https://www.natlawreview.com/article/wuhan-institute-virology-applies-patent-gilead-s-remdesivir accessed 9.1.2020
42. Jim Liao “Dawning Information Industry and Jiang Mianheng have Close Ties.” Epoch Times Jun 28 2019 https://epochtimes.today/dawning-information-industry-and-jiang-mianheng-have-close-ties/ accessed 9.1.2020
43. http://www.crunchbase.com/person/jiang-mianheng accessed 9.1.2020
44. Update: US NH Awarded Wuhan Lab that Studied Bat Coronavirus a $#.7 Million US Grant. April 16 2020 https://gsiexchange.com/update-us-nih-awarded-wuhan-lab-that-studied-bat-coronavirus-a-3-7-million-us-grant/ accessed 9.1.2020
45. Tuba Khan “BioNTech and Fosun Pharma form COVID-19 vaccine strategic alliance in China.” PharmaShots August 13 2020 https://pharmashots.com/press-releases/biontech-and-fosun-pharma-form-covid-19-vaccine-strategic-alliance-in-china/ accessed 9.1.2020
46. Brittany Vonow. “Without a Trace. Five Wuhan whistleblowers still missing and one is dead after exposing true horrors of coronavirus.” The US. Sun April 19 2020 https://www.the-sun.com/news/705139/wuhan-whistleblowers-missing-one-dead-coronavirus/ accessed 9.1.2020
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