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The Lancet medical journal published an article calling for an “objective” and “transparent” debate on the true origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, more than a year and a half after its controversial article condemning the “conspiracy theories” which suggest the virus has leaked from a lab in China.
The article published Friday, titled “A Call for an Objective, Open and Transparent Scientific Debate on the Origin of SARS-CoV-2”, is signed by 16 scientists claiming that a laboratory accident is “plausible”, as is the virus having a natural origin, and that neither of these theories has yet to be ruled out.
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“Overwhelming evidence of a zoonotic or research-related origin is lacking: the jury is still out,” they wrote. “Based on the current scientific literature, supplemented by our own analyzes of the genomes and proteins of coronaviruses, we believe that there is currently no convincing evidence to choose between a natural origin (i.e. a virus which has evolved and been transmitted to humans only through contact with wild or farmed animals) and a research-related origin (which may have occurred at sampling sites, during transport or within laboratory, and may have involved natural, selected or modified viruses).
The authors criticized a controversial ‘statement in favor of scientists’ article published by The Lancet in February 2020 which stated:’ We unite in strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 is not of natural origin “. The letter, signed by 27 experts, warned that sharing of data on the COVID-19 outbreak was “threatened by rumors and misinformation” about its origins.
The February 2020 letter came under scrutiny after one of the authors, Peter Daszak, President of the EcoHealth Alliance and member of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission, failed to disclose interests competitors and was then “turned away” from working on the origins of the pandemic. Daszak has since updated its disclosure statement to include information regarding EcoHealth’s work in China.
In July, the same panel of experts in the 2020 letter released another letter reaffirming their belief that COVID-19 has evolved in nature while urging others to “turn down the heat of rhetoric and turn up the light of the scientific research “.
The authors of Friday’s letter argued that the statements by the other group have had a “silencing effect on the broader science debate, including among science journalists.”
“Scientific journals should open their columns to in-depth analyzes of all hypotheses,” they argued. “As scientists, we must evaluate all hypotheses on a rational basis and weigh their probability on the basis of facts and evidence, without speculating on possible political impacts.”
“Most importantly, science embraces alternative assumptions, conflicting arguments, verification, refutability and controversy,” they continued. “Departing from this principle risks establishing dogmas, abandoning the essence of science and, worse yet, opening the way to conspiracy theories. Instead, the scientific community should bring this debate to its place: the columns of scientific journals.
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A World Health Organization investigation into the virus came under scrutiny for its inconclusive results in March, and China rejected a second phase of an investigation into its origin. Scientists in Friday’s article said that although the initial study concluded that the laboratory’s origin was “extremely unlikely,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said all assumptions remained. on the table.
The authors then called for an “evidence-based, independent and unbiased assessment” of the origins of the virus, which they said would require “a high-level international expert consultation without conflicts of interest, from various disciplines. and country. “
Alexandria Hein contributed reporting.
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