Worthwhile discussion on COVID origins, GOF definition, the coverup--by virologists we don't hear from much

1.5 hours. Panelists: Simon Wain-Hobson, Alex Washburne, Laura Kahn, Sunetra Gupta, Bryce Nickels (who is on the board of BioSafety Now)

This panel on COVID origins is worth watching, moderated by Jan Jekielek. (And I never allow myself to watch anything this long, but I listened to the whole thing.). The panelists got a bit emotional, which is when they tell us what they really think.

The two female panelists do not want to ban Gain-of-Function research and Sunetra Guptra actually claims that endemic origin in humans is the “most parsimonious” explanation for COVID, in her very posh accent and high-handed manner. However she does rail against the surveillance/biosecurity agenda at the end.

She is working on a universal flu vaccine, btw. She was married until recently to Adrian Hill, a chief designer of the Astra-Zeneca COVID vaccine.

Why are women trotted out when there is a really sticky issue, in this case when the Blob does not want the origin issue resolved?

Laura Kahn has been pushing One Health for at least fifteen years, possibly even before it was picked up by the Rockefeller Foundation and WHO. Once the original concept that doctors and veterinarians should work together on zoonoses became co-opted to help take over the world, she continued to hold on tight to One Health. And a paean to One Health is in her closing statement.

While Laura generally comes across as a soft-spoken peacemaker, I caught her doing something really troubling on the panel: using a new definition of Gain-of-Function designed specifically to interfere with ending GOF on pathogens. She claimed that adding an insulin gene to bacteria is GOF—but only since GOF was redefined by some people to get everyone confused, during the past few years. It was music to my ears when Wain-Hobson pointed out they are talking about biowarfare research.

Sunetra Gupta also used the new definition and made the claim she is using GOF in her own work. Unsurprisingly, she says the threat of a lab-developed pathogen is overblown. However, Simon Wain-Hobson claimed that very terrible pathogens can be created in labs now. He and Bryce Nickels are members of BioSafety NOW, an organization of scientists to control dangerous experiments.

All in all, refreshing to hear these matters discussed at all.