I’m tired of all the FB experts – all these SM folks who learned everything they need to know about Sars-CoV-2, virology, viral origins, etc. because they read a few posts on SM. You know the sort of persons I’m talking about.
I’m tired of the increasing lack of intellectual curiosity our American population is displaying.
I’m tired of seeing the lack of intellectual curiosity or “Death of Expertise”. This demonization of our expertise in the US is a result of the attitude from non-experts thinking they can figure this all out by themselves. NO. YOU. DO. NOT. HAVE. THE. EXPERTISE!!!
To that end, I’m providing an excellent PRIMARY resource on the political topics of the moment – whether Dr. Fauci bribed a couple of scientists in halting the talk of lab leak hypothesis. I will also include links to other readings that provide good scientific material. I hope that many will truly want to educate themselves.
Dr. Eddie Holmes in a scientist at Sydney University. He was interviewed by Vincent Racaniello (TWIV, episode 940) setting the record straight. The link to entire video 1 Hr, 33 mins: https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-940/
I highly suggest folks listen to the entire interview.
Dr. Edward Holmes qualifications: https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/about/our-people/academic-staff/edward-holmes.html
Further comments about Dr. Holmes quoted from the book, BREATHLESS, The Scientific Race To Defeat A Deadly Virus, by David Quammen. “Holmes is a British evolutionary biologist at the University of Sydney, and the only non-Chinese member of Zhang’s team for the sequencing, assembly, and analysis of the new virus’ genome. He specializes in the molecular evolution of viruses. . .. Holmes is highly respected not just as a consulting wizard, a coauthor on many influential journal papers. . . . Speak with molecular virologists anywhere in the world, remind them ‘But wait, hasn’t Eddie said. . .’ this or that, and they may not agree with the statements but they will know who you mean. In this field there’s only one Eddie. “
Further note for the reader: When I put comments into “ ” from the video interview, I am taking snippets of his words, I am paraphrasing, to shorten this discussion here.
As the discussion begins in the interview, we get a flavor for United States’ academic work in global science. Eddie: “Academic work (Australia) works in a different way here. The US drives global science. The UK (Oxford) is the smartest place I’ve been in. US is where there is so much money in the system. And politically we (Australia) are not this millstream of stress that I see in the US. When our government changes, when we have a prime minister, not so good, it’s not the same impact as it is in the US. The US changes presidents, and the whole world is watching with amazement. You know as scientists we are worried about the science, and in the US, it just gets mixed up in the politics. And that is very concerning.”
--Not a good place for the United States to lead from, is it?
Eddie was working with Yong-Zhen Zhang on the first paper to provide the sequencing of the Sars-CoV-2 virus. Immediately the Chinese government wanted to be in control and placed an embargo on the sequence. Sequence was released (listen to the interview). Zhang was in trouble and this trouble is still ongoing today. “He is not the same person, very serious consequences.”
Minute 29 to 37, Discussion on “Dr. Fauci Teleconference Stuff’
“Watching this is the most extraordinary thing I’ve seen. The vilification of Tony Fauci in some quarters, it is shocking to me.”
At the end of January 2020, Jerry Farrer, Patrick Valence, and Eddie were discussing whether virus came the lab. For a few days, they were becoming increasingly concerned. Eddie is quoted as having said that he was 60/40 (or 80/20) thinking it was a lab leak. “That is true, but only for a short while, as the scientists were scrambling to understand this. Kristian Anderson was highly concerned.”
Time to organize a conference call. The conference call was NOT organized by Tony Fauci, it was organized by Jeremy Farrar. Participants on the conference call were:
--Jeremy Farrar, Medical Researcher, Wellcome Trust
--Tony Fauci, Director NIAID, NIH
--Francis Collins, Director NIH
--Michael Farzan, Professor of Immunology, SCRIPPS
--Robert Garry, Virologist Tulane University, New Orleans
--Kristian Anderson, Computational Geneticist, Scripps Research
Institute
--Edward Holmes, (above)
--Ron Fouchier, Virologist
--Patrick Vallance, Chief Scientific Advisory to United Kingdom Gov’t
--Andrew Rambaut, Evolutionary Virologist, Founder virological.org.
--Marion Koopmans, Dutch virologist, Rotterdam
--Christian Drosten, Directory of virology institute, Berlin)
Eddie: “Kristian presents what he has seen. Eddie adds a little. Tony says little, basically about science. Francis Collins says less than Tony. Tony Fauci’s behavior was completely impeccable, as was Collins. All they wanted to know was what does the science say. They didn’t direct us, they didn’t tell us what to think, they didn’t write the paper.” Read that again: Tony Fauci and Francis Collins DID NOT write the paper.
Drs. Fauci and Collins only said: “Tell us what the science says.”
The paper was written by Anderson, Holmes, Garry, Rambaut, and conspiracy theorists and politicians have thrown this around like a political ball. Politicians claim that Fauci was forcing the scientists – that Fauci was giving Kristian NIH $$$. All FALSE
Eddie: Within 3 days I had changed my mind from lab leak to normal transmission of animal host to human. “I changed my mind very quickly. . very quickly because of data. Not because Fauci told me, Fauci told no one to change their mind.”
There are a lot of moving parts at this point.
Then the conspiracy theorists, including irresponsible politicians, come out when Dr. Fauci’s emails were released (with significant redactions) – that Dr. Fauci told people to pull their papers or Fauci telling people to change their mind. All false and all conspiracy thinking. “That Fauci is ordering people to do anything. . . is complete, absolutely nonsense. I know what the redactions say in the emails released. At some point people will know what we said, and people will be very embarrassed by the nonsense they are talking.”
“Fauci did exactly the right thing. And Collins – They should celebrated, not vilified.”
‘Anderson would say on Twitter in response to Fauci criticisms: What the email shows is a clear example of the scientific process.” They were considering possibilities, lab leak included, engineered virus included, natural spillover included, and they hungered for more data that might support or negate one or another.’ (1)
Eddie Holmes: “Shi Zhengli (virologist at Wuhan Institute of Virology, who has been vilified, even though her documentation and writings have been spot on) deserves an apology.”
Eddie goes into a discussion further on why this virus did not leak from the lab. Simply put, it can be documented that all publications coming out from the Wuhan Institute prior to 2019 all involved Sars-CoV-1. To think that secret work was being done on Sars-CoV-2 is ludicrous. Academia wants to publish. Academics interact with each across the globe, they talk, they post to virology web-sites. There is simply no way that if Wuhan were working on Sars2, that there would not be discussion somewhere or some leak. There is nothing in the scientific literature that mentions it. All the sample and papers published involved Sars-CoV-1 and Sars 1 and Sars 2 are so far apart that there is no dispute.
POLITICS
Eddie Holmes: “We have to keep our relationships with China and Chinese scientists because otherwise the world would be a far less safe place. We have to keep the channels of communication open. We have to share globally. But there is more and more polarization (due to politics). It is tougher to collaborate. This is a horrendous legacy to leave. If legacy turns out to be that politics being the dominant force and lack of communication with Chinese scientist, we are in a far worse place.”
“Trump’s China flu thing got China’s back up and caused China to shut down communication. Sadly, science is political football between nations. Awful politics. We could have resolved this if not for the politics. Finger pointing is so blatant.’
“Scientists don’t point fingers. Many folks made mistakes at the beginning of this pandemic. China, Europe, US, etc. Things were bungled, things went wrong. Let’s not point the finger. Let’s learn from those mistakes.” We either learn from the mistakes in order to make the management of the next pandemic far more manageable, and far more successful.
“Someone gets blamed for it – that is counterproductive. So much worse for the future.”
“US intelligence. . it doesn’t take many steps to get to conspiracy. Science doesn’t work in a vacuum. We gossip. If people were working on Sars 2—absolutely that we would have heard. Level of secrecy, why would academic do that? We are in the business in publishing. Easy to find information. Give me the one piece of information that blows the secret. Absolutely nothing. There is NO evidence of Sars 2 in any paper. . .absolutely nothing. There is NOTHING. Give me the data!!!!”
For the conspiracy theorists trying to stop WHO amendments, trying to take US out of the global medical community. . . .I say that you have no concept of what global medicine is. No one country can EVER handle a global pandemic, alone and by themselves. Science is collaborative across the globe. While the United States is one leader, there are many more highly skilled and educated leaders across the globe that lead just as well.
If we don’t learn now, and stop this politicization, we will not only be the laughing stock of the global community, but we will fall behind. We will not be ready for the next outbreak.
Our politicians are to blame. As well, we must blame the people who subscribe to conspiracy theory and who refuse to educate themselves through reading the works of the leaders who were there. It’s past time to take off the tin hats and the conspiracy laden nonsense.
Other Reading Sources:
(1)Breathless, The Scientific Race To Defeat A Deadly Virus, by David Quammen, 2022.
(2) https://theintercept.com/2022/01/12/covid-origins-fauci-redacted-emails/
(3) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/14/science/covid-lab-leak-fauci-kristian-andersen.html