Three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) sought hospital care in November 2019, months before China disclosed the COVID-19 pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing a previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report.
The newspaper said the report – which provides fresh details on the number of researchers affected, the timing of their illnesses, and their hospital visits – might add weight to calls for a broader probe of whether the COVID-19 virus could have escaped from the laboratory.
Even Dr. Anthony Fauci admits now he is “not convinced” SARS-CoV-2 has a natural origin.
“No, I am not convinced about that,” Fauci told Politifact’s Katie Sanders at a virtual event called “United Facts of America: A Festival of Fact-Checking.” “I think we should continue to investigate what went on in China until we continue to find out to the best of our ability what happened.
“Certainly, the people who investigated it say it likely was the emergence from an animal reservoir that then infected individuals, but it could have been something else, and we need to find that out. So, you know, that’s the reason why I said I’m perfectly in favor of any investigation that looks into the origin of the virus.”
