NEW — Dr. Scott Gottlieb Says COVID May Have Come From a Lab Leak Due to the U.S. Outsourcing GoF Research

“Sometimes the highest risk experiments get outsourced to the worst labs around the world” pic.twitter.com/jLo05s8hp8

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) March 5, 2023

I think we should work on the assumption that there’s a probability that it was a lab leak, and start putting in place the kinds of protections that we need. The Congressman talked about gain of function research. He made the point that there isn’t a real commercial prerogative for doing that kind of research. I agree with him. We ought to look at whether we outlaw that kind of research. And certainly, if it’s going to take place, conducted in BSL-4 labs, high security labs under very strict conditions, where we know what’s going on, and don’t outsource it to labs in China.

Sometimes the highest-risk experiments get outsourced to the worst labs around the world, because they’re the ones willing to do those experiments. And so if we’re going to do high risk research, because we think it’s important from a national security standpoint, and that’s the only context with which this would make sense, there really isn’t a commercial context in which this would make sense; we need to get better control over it. And to Matt’s point, Matt Pottinger’s point, we need to get the intelligence agencies engaged in this as a national security- as a part of their national security mission, and look at public health preparedness through a national security lens. I think we’re doing that now. But we need to be very explicit about that. And that does mean also surveillance around some of the high risk activities that can create these kinds of risks.

[Note: The tweet embed may not work immediately, as Twitter is experiencing malfunctions as I’m writing this. If not, check back later. On Gottlieb’s point, we could have been three years into following his recommendations if the Beltway medical establishment hadn’t colluded with national media to suppress discussion of the lab-leak theory and labeled it a conspiracy theory and misinformation. — Ed]