The COVID-19 virus has been well-known for originating in Wuhan, China. The virus was believed by multiple scientists to have evolved naturally and spread to humans from an animal. There have been multiple theories on which animal the virus originated in and was transmitted from, whether it was bats, pangolins, or raccoon dogs is still unknown to this day. However, it has been widely accepted that it spreads naturally.
Recently, the former CDC director under Trump’s administration, Robert Redfield expressed belief in the lab leak theory. The lab leak theory is a controversial theory claiming that COVID-19 was genetically engineered as a biodefense weapon within the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Subsequently, Redfield while on the Third Opinion Podcast, announced a new theory claiming that the virus had U.S origins.
While on the podcast, Redfield claimed that COVID-19 was “intentionally engineered as a part of a biodefense program” in North Carolina laboratories. He proceeded to claim that the virus was not purposely spread and that they did the “best they could” in handling the virus once it became a problem.
Redfield goes on to blame funding for the NIH, USAID, and the Department of Defense for being part of the virus. He additionally claims Dr. Ralph Baric, a researcher at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for being the “scientific mastermind” behind the virus.
When podcast attendees would press Redfield to elaborate on his theory, he would reiterate that Baric was responsible for creating original virus strands, even though he lacks evidence to back this claim. He then goes on to say that even though it is still possible that China was the origin place for COVID-19, he also claims that he believes it originated in Chapel Hill and is a real possibility as well. Dr. Baric has not responded to these claims at this time.
Despite Redfields claims, it is incredibly unlikely for the virus to have been engineered in North Carolina. There has been extensive research on COVID-19, including its genomic structure and anatomy. Scientists have found multiple connections between COVID-19 and other coronaviruses found naturally in bats and pangolins. There have also been previous coronavirus outbreaks decades before 2020 from animals as well, on a smaller scale.
While genetically engineering viruses is possible, most genetically engineered viruses have some form of “scars” or markings that can help prove they were genetically engineered. This is because it is not possible to perfectly engineer a virus like those found naturally within our environment. COVID-19 lacks these genetic scars and markers that would be found on a genetically engineered virus. In addition, the COVID-19 method of infection disproves the idea of a genetically engineered virus. If the virus was engineered, it would adapt to our bodies’ environments differently from those that occur naturally.
Although COVID-19 has some “suspicious features” such as the spikes lining the virus having a strong affinity for the human ACE2 receptor, or the furin cleavage sites found on the virus, which would increase its infectivity, other coronaviruses that exist naturally also have these features, particularly the furin cleavage site, which for the most part rules out the possibility of this virus having genetically modified features.
Finally, there is a lack of motive for this virus to be a bioengineered weapon. The virus is not very lethal, even if it spreads quickly it has a very low mortality rate. This would be odd considering that anthrax, a naturally occurring virus that has been engineered is extremely more lethal. There is a lack of evidence and reason for the virus to have been engineered and released from any institute that works on viruses and genetics, it is highly believed that the virus originated from other coronavirus-causing animals and was spread from one of those animals to humans, and due to its high transmissibility, it spread across the globe at unprecedented rates.
