Fauci Was Right

As a primary care physician who literally takes the pulse of Americans every day, I know that many people don’t trust Dr. Fauci, while others think he is the greatest physician ever. Personally, I am suspicious of MDs who spend their lives as administrators. Nonetheless, it’s time for me to make amends and recognize the clairvoyant genius of Dr. Fauci. 

In 2012, Dr. Fauci predicted how the SARS-2 pandemic would start. Yes. Ten years ago, he outlined the scenario that would cause a worldwide plague.

In the wake of gain-of-function research on H5N1 influenza virus (bird flu) spiraling out of control among lab animals, the research community implemented a moratorium on such research. Fauci wrote this commentary for mBio, the online journal of the American Society of Microbiology, arguing in favor of gain of function research, while at the same time acknowledging the risks:

“The issue that has been intensely debated is whether knowledge obtained from these experiments could inadvertently affect public health in an adverse way, even in nations multiple time zones away. Putting aside the specter of bioterrorism for the moment, consider this hypothetical scenario: an important gain-of-function experiment involving a virus with serious pandemic potential is performed in a well-regulated, world-class laboratory by experienced investigators, but the information from the experiment is then used by another scientist who does not have the same training and facilities and is not subject to the same regulations. In an unlikely but conceivable turn of events, what if that scientist becomes infected with the virus, which leads to an outbreak and ultimately triggers a pandemic?”

This scenario is the most likely explanation for the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. Ralph Baric in the well-regulated, world-class laboratory of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill developed genetic techniques to enhance the pandemic potential of existing bat coronaviruses. He transferred the methods to and worked in collaboration with Dr. Zhengli Shi at the Wuhan Institute of Virology(WIV) and with EcoHealth Alliance. Once, the WIV acquired the technology for monkeying around with coronaviruses, who knows what they did. One thing we do know is that newly engineered SARS-like coronaviruses were handled in the less secure facilities of the WIV and were not subject to the same regulations as in the United States.

Just like Dr. Fauci warned.

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