By Ben Kerrigan-
Chinese researchers are believed to have developed two Covid vaccines in November 2019, before the official start of the outbreak, according to a US senate report.
The report said that the type of bats carrying the closest virus to Covid-19 lived over 1,000 miles away from Wuhan.
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The lab had collected over 200 coronaviruses and employees had been photographed handling bats with inadequate protective gear, the report said.
The research was aimed at preventing future pandemics, and scientists had sought funding to engineer coronaviruses, it said.
The comprehensive argued that Chinese researchers commenced development of at least two Covid vaccines at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in November 2019, meaning “SARS-CoV-2 would have been present at the WIV before the known outbreak of the pandemic”, adding further credence to the lab leak theory and supporting accusations that China covered up early cases of the outbreak.
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The claims from a 300-page document, concluding the pandemic to have most likely come from a lab leak and was the result of a “research-related incident” in Wuhan, adding further credence to the lab leak theory and supporting accusations that China covered up early cases of the outbreak, The telegraph reports.
It is believed to provides the “strongest evidence” yet that animals susceptible to Sars-Cov-2 were traded at the site in late 2019 and may have acted as the “intermediate host”, which passed the virus from bats to humans.
Scientists say the findings are a critical clue to better understand the origins of the virus. It also shows that China is sitting on more data than it has previously released or shared globally.
A major Covid-19 Commission report suggested the disease may have leaked from a laboratory in the United States said it remains “feasible” that Sars-Cov-2 emerged from either a natural spillover or a laboratory incident, and called for the introduction of more safeguards to reduce the risk of either eventuality.
The report suggested that advocates of the natural transmission theory “must provide clear and convincing evidence” for their argument.
It concluded: “The preponderance of information affirms the plausibility of a research-related incident that was likely unintentional resulting from failures of biosafety containment during vaccine-related research.”
Scientists, and US intelligence, have been split over whether the pandemic originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology [WIV], which had been collecting and manipulating bat viruses, or from a natural spillover at a Wuhan market selling live animals.
The report said there were “anomalies” between Covid-19 and other diseases that have spilled over naturally from animals to humans.
And it said, three years on, no critical evidence had been found proving there was a natural spillover. It suggested that the alleged spillover would have occured simultaneously in various places had the claim been credible.
The report also noted that the type of bats carrying the closest virus to Covid-19 lived over 1,000 miles away from Wuhan.
However, the lab had collected over 200 coronaviruses, and employees had been photographed handling bats with inadequate protective gear, the report said.
Scientists there had been involved in research aimed at preventing future pandemics, and had sought funding to engineer coronaviruses, it said
The report said: “A research-related incident is consistent with the early epidemiology [of Covid-19] showing rapid spread of the virus in Wuhan, with the earliest calls for assistance being located near the WIV’s original campus in central Wuhan.
“In short, human errors, mechanical failure, animal bites, animal escapes, inadequate training, insufficient funding, and pressure for results can lead to an escape of virulent pathogens, which could, in turn, infect animals and humans and lead to a release of a virus from a lab.”
However, the report did not offer a “definitive” conclusion on the origin of the pandemic.
It said: “More information is needed to arrive at a more precise, if not a definitive, understanding of the origins…and how the Covid-19 pandemic began.
“Governments, leaders, public health officials, and scientists involved in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic and working to prevent future pandemics, must commit to greater transparency, engagement, and responsibility in their efforts.”
Last month, Christopher Wray, the director of the FBI, said Covid “most likely” leaked from the Wuhan lab.
Mr Wray said: “The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.”
The US Department of Energy has also concluded that a lab leak was the most likely cause, although with “low confidence”.
The energy department oversees a network of 17 US laboratories researching advanced biology.
Meanwhile, the CIA reportedly remains undecided between the lab leak and natural transmission theories.
Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said last month there was not a “definitive answer” yet.
He said: “Some elements of the intelligence community have reached conclusions on one side, some on the other, and a number have said they just don’t have enough information to be sure.”
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