Daszak had written an article published in The Lancet medical journal, castigating ideas or suspicions that the novel virus might not be of natural origin.
The article was written before any rigorous research on the origins of the virus was conducted.
“We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin,” reads the article.
Daszak reiterated that stance in a February 6, 2020, email, “We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that 2019-nCoV does not have a natural origin. Scientific evidence overwhelmingly suggests that this virus originated in wildlife, as have so many other emerging diseases.”
But last Friday, his spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that his widely cited statement, which was used to trample over differing points of view, was utilized to protect Chinese scientists from online criticism.
“The Lancet letter was written during a time in which Chinese scientists were receiving death threats and the letter was intended as a showing of support for them as they were caught between important work trying to stop an outbreak and the crush of online harassment,” Daszak’s spokesman said.
The United States said it had reason to believe that several researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill with symptoms similar to those caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus in the autumn of 2019, contradicting claims by a senior researcher from the facility who said there were no infections among the staff scientists.
The revelation is part of a fact sheet released by the U.S. State Department on January 15, which slams the CCP for excessive secrecy around the origin of the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.
The Epoch Times published the first documentary on the origin of the CCP virus in April last year.
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