American Scientist Who Worked With Wuhan Lab Claims COVID-19 Was ‘Genetically Engineered’
An American scientist who worked with a research laboratory in Wuhan, China, has claimed that the novel coronavirus was a “genetically engineered agent” that leaked from the U.S.-funded facility.
It was reportedly exposed by Dr. Andrew Huff, an epidemiologist and former vice president of EcoHealth Alliance, in “The Truth About Wuhan” book, in which he referred to the pandemic as “the biggest U.S. intelligence failure since 9/11.”
In his book, Huff says the COVID-19 virus was genetically engineered through China’s gain-of-function experiments—which modify the way an organism functions—funded by the United States government, The Sun reported.
He said that EcoHealth spent years teaching the Wuhan Institute of Virology the “best existing methods to engineer bat coronaviruses to attack other species,” and that China was aware “that this was a genetically engineered agent.”
“The U.S. government is to blame for the transfer of dangerous biotechnology to the Chinese,” he told The Sun. “I was terrified by what I saw. We were just handing them bioweapon technology.”
Huff claimed that China’s gain-of-function experiments were carried out with poor control measures, which led to the lab leak at the Wuhan lab.
“EcoHealth Alliance and foreign laboratories did not have the adequate control measures in place for ensuring proper biosafety, biosecurity, and risk management, ultimately resulting in the lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” he wrote in the book.
EcoHealth Alliance, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that aims to prevent the emergence of new infectious diseases, has been studying bat-related coronaviruses with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The group established ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“Nobody should be surprised that the Chinese lied about the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 and then went to extraordinary lengths to make it appear as if the disease naturally emerged,” Huff added.
Fauci Defends Funding EcoHealth
Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), had defended his agency’s decisionto fund EcoHealth.
EcoHealth received roughly $3 million in grants from NIAID in late September, which came just weeks after the NIH, to which NIAID belongs, terminated an EcoHealth sub-award to the Wuhan lab.
NIH told the House Oversight Committee that the Chinese facility had twice declined the agency’s requests to hand over laboratory records so that it could review the research.
When asked why he was confident that “EcoHealth is a good funding partner,” despite criticism about its lack of transparency over virus research, Fauci insisted that the two were separate matters.
“It’s kind of like saying that there is a grant from an institution in the United States, that [there’s] something really bad about that grant, and therefore, you shouldn’t give any funding to any other element of that institution,” Fauci said.
“You’ve got to be fair, and you’ve got to go by process, not arbitrarily deciding whether you want to fund something or not,” he said in an Oct. 4 webinar hosted by the University of Southern California’s Center for Health Journalism.
With regards to the lab leak theory, Fauci said that he “kept a completely open mind about the possibility that there may have been a lab leak,” but the “lab leak is a theory with no evidence whatsoever.”
EcoHealth Responds
EcoHealth has issued a statement in response to Huff’s claims. It confirmed Huff’s employment with EcoHealth from 2014 to 2016 but denied that he worked at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, saying that Huff “was assigned to a completely different project working on computer-based algorithms to assess emerging disease threats.
“Given that he never worked at or with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, his assertions along these lines cannot be trusted,” it said.
EcoHealth also refuted Huff’s allegation that it was engaged in gain-of-function research to create SARS-CoV-2, and denied claims that the pandemic was caused by a lab leak from the Wuhan lab or research related to U.S. intelligence efforts. The organization stated that “while a lab leak cannot be absolutely ruled out, the Independent Task Force found no verifiable and credible evidence or scientific data to support this interpretation.
“Mr. Huff argues that the origin of COVID-19 is definitely due to a lab leak, yet he provides no scientific evidence to support his case. To the contrary, the emerging consensus, based on peer-reviewed scientific evidence, is that COVID-19 originated through zoonotic spillover,” it stated.
Eva Fu contributed to this report.
This article has been updated with EcoHealth’s response.
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Ilmuwan Amerika yang Bekerja dengan Lab Wuhan Mengklaim COVID-19 'Direkayasa Secara Genetik'
Aldgra Fredly
Seorang ilmuwan Amerika yang bekerja dengan laboratorium penelitian di Wuhan, Cina, telah mengklaim bahwa virus corona baru adalah "agen rekayasa genetika" yang bocor dari fasilitas yang didanai AS.
Itu dilaporkan diekspos oleh Dr. Andrew Huff, seorang ahli epidemiologi dan mantan wakil presiden EcoHealth Alliance, dalam buku "The Truth About Wuhan", di mana dia menyebut pandemi sebagai "kegagalan intelijen AS terbesar sejak 9/11."
Dalam bukunya, Huff mengatakan virus COVID-19 direkayasa secara genetik melalui eksperimen gain-of-function China—yang memodifikasi cara organisme berfungsi—didanai oleh pemerintah Amerika Serikat, The Sun melaporkan.
Dia mengatakan bahwa EcoHealth menghabiskan bertahun-tahun mengajar Institut Virologi Wuhan "metode terbaik yang ada untuk merekayasa virus corona kelelawar untuk menyerang spesies lain," dan bahwa Cina sadar "bahwa ini adalah agen rekayasa genetika."
"Pemerintah AS yang harus disalahkan atas transfer bioteknologi berbahaya ke Cina," katanya kepada The Sun. “Saya takut dengan apa yang saya lihat. Kami hanya menyerahkan teknologi senjata biologis kepada mereka.”
Huff mengklaim bahwa eksperimen gain-of-function China dilakukan dengan langkah-langkah kontrol yang buruk, yang menyebabkan kebocoran lab di lab Wuhan.
Laboratorium P4 di kampus Institut Virologi Wuhan di Wuhan, Provinsi Hubei, Tiongkok, pada 13 Mei 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP melalui Getty Images)
"EcoHealth Alliance dan laboratorium asing tidak memiliki langkah-langkah kontrol yang memadai untuk memastikan keamanan hayati, biosekuriti, dan manajemen risiko yang tepat, yang pada akhirnya mengakibatkan kebocoran laboratorium di Institut Virologi Wuhan," tulisnya dalam buku itu.
EcoHealth Alliance, sebuah organisasi nirlaba yang berbasis di AS yang bertujuan untuk mencegah munculnya penyakit menular baru, telah mempelajari virus corona terkait kelelawar dengan pendanaan dari Institut Kesehatan Nasional (NIH). Kelompok ini menjalin hubungan dengan Institut Virologi Wuhan.
"Tidak ada yang harus terkejut bahwa orang Cina berbohong tentang wabah SARS-CoV-2 dan kemudian berusaha keras untuk membuatnya tampak seolah-olah penyakit itu muncul secara alami," tambah Huff.
Fauci Membela Pendanaan EcoHealth
Dr. Anthony Fauci, kepala Institut Nasional Alergi dan Penyakit Menular (NIAID), telah membela keputusan agensinya untuk mendanai EcoHealth.
EcoHealth menerima sekitar $3 juta dalam bentuk hibah dari NIAID pada akhir September, yang datang hanya beberapa minggu setelah NIH, tempat NIAID berada, menghentikan sub-penghargaan EcoHealth ke lab Wuhan.
NIH mengatakan kepada Komite Pengawas DPR bahwa fasilitas Cina telah dua kali menolak permintaan agensi untuk menyerahkan catatan laboratorium sehingga dapat meninjau penelitian.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, direktur Institut Nasional Alergi dan Penyakit Menular, di Capitol Hill di Washington pada 14 September 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Ketika ditanya mengapa dia yakin bahwa "EcoHealth adalah mitra pendanaan yang baik," meskipun ada kritik tentang kurangnya transparansi atas penelitian virus, Fauci bersikeras bahwa keduanya adalah masalah yang terpisah.
"Ini seperti mengatakan bahwa ada hibah dari institusi di Amerika Serikat, bahwa [ada] sesuatu yang sangat buruk tentang hibah itu, dan oleh karena itu, Anda tidak boleh memberikan dana apa pun kepada elemen lain dari institusi itu," kata Fauci.
"Anda harus bersikap adil, dan Anda harus mengikuti proses, bukan secara sewenang-wenang memutuskan apakah Anda ingin mendanai sesuatu atau tidak," katanya dalam webinar 4 Oktober yang diselenggarakan oleh Pusat Jurnalisme Kesehatan Universitas California Selatan.
Sehubungan dengan teori kebocoran laboratorium, Fauci mengatakan bahwa dia "menjaga pikiran yang benar-benar terbuka tentang kemungkinan bahwa mungkin ada kebocoran laboratorium," tetapi "kebocoran laboratorium adalah teori tanpa bukti apa pun."
Respon EcoHealth
EcoHealth telah mengeluarkan pernyataan sebagai tanggapan atas klaim Huff. Itu mengkonfirmasi pekerjaan Huff dengan EcoHealth dari 2014 hingga 2016 tetapi membantah bahwa dia bekerja di Institut Virologi Wuhan, mengatakan bahwa Huff "ditugaskan ke proyek yang sama sekali berbeda bekerja pada algoritma berbasis komputer untuk menilai ancaman penyakit yang muncul.
"Mengingat bahwa dia tidak pernah bekerja di atau dengan Institut Virologi Wuhan, pernyataannya di sepanjang garis ini tidak dapat dipercaya," katanya.
EcoHealth juga membantah tuduhan Huff bahwa mereka terlibat dalam penelitian gain-of-function untuk membuat SARS-CoV-2, dan membantah klaim bahwa pandemi disebabkan oleh kebocoran laboratorium dari lab Wuhan atau penelitian yang terkait dengan upaya intelijen AS. Organisasi tersebut menyatakan bahwa “sementara kebocoran laboratorium tidak dapat sepenuhnya dikesampingkan, Gugus Tugas Independen tidak menemukan bukti atau data ilmiah yang dapat diverifikasi dan kredibel untuk mendukung interpretasi ini.
"Tuan Huff berpendapat bahwa asal usul COVID-19 pasti karena kebocoran laboratorium, namun dia tidak memberikan bukti ilmiah untuk mendukung kasusnya. Sebaliknya, konsensus yang muncul, berdasarkan bukti ilmiah peer-review, adalah bahwa COVID-19 berasal dari limpahan zoonosis," katanya.
Eva Fu berkontribusi pada laporan ini.
Artikel ini telah diperbarui dengan tanggapan EcoHealth.
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