Chinese Lab Secretly Mapped COVID-19 Two Weeks Prior To Official Disclosure: US Records

In a recent revelation, it has been disclosed that Chinese researchers had successfully isolated and mapped the virus that causes COVID-19 in late December 2019, a full two weeks before Beijing made the information public. This has raised fresh concerns about what China knew in the early stages of the pandemic.

What Happened: Documents obtained by a House committee from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reveal that a Chinese researcher in Beijing uploaded a nearly complete sequence of the virus’s structure to a U.S. government-run database on Dec. 28, 2019. This was at least two weeks before Chinese officials shared the virus’s sequence with the World Health Organization on Jan. 11, 2020, reported The Wall Street Journal.

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These findings do not provide clarity on the debate regarding the virus’s origin but do suggest that the global community lacks a comprehensive understanding of the pandemic’s beginnings.

Having the virus information two weeks earlier "would have helped in the early stages of the outbreak," particularly with putting a more effective testing regimen in place, said Richard Ebright, a microbiologist at Rutgers University.

Dr. Lili Ren, the Chinese researcher who submitted the virus sequence, has not responded to Benzinga.com’s email requests for comment.

The Chinese Embassy spokesperson has defended China’s COVID-19 response, stating that it is science-based and effective. The spokesperson remarked, "China's COVID response policies are science-based, effective, and consistent with China's national realities. They can stand the test of history."

Why It Matters: This revelation comes at a time when the credibility of the COVID-19 lab leak theory is being re-evaluated. Francis Collins, the former head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recently acknowledged the credibility of the lab leak theory, a concept he had previously dismissed as a “distraction.” This acknowledgment was made during a private session with the House Select Committee on Coronavirus Pandemic, where Collins acted as Dr. Anthony Fauci’s boss. This shift in stance by a prominent figure in the scientific community adds weight to the ongoing debate about the origins of the COVID-19 virus.

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