A new report from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic acknowledges that the COVID-19 virus “most likely” leaked from a Chinese lab.
The 557-page report reprimanded the U.S. government for its failure to respond appropriately to the virus. The committee explained that the 6-foot social distancing rules and mask mandates were irrelevant to the virus’s outcome, noting that the lockdowns damaged the economic and mental health of the U.S. population.
“COVID-19 most likely emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China,” the report says.
The five main arguments supporting the “lab leak” theory include, as described in the report:
- “The virus possesses a biological characteristic that is not found in nature.
- “Data shows that all COVID-19 cases stem from a single introduction into humans. This runs contrary to previous pandemics where there were multiple spillover events.
- “Wuhan is home to China’s foremost SARS research lab, which has a history of conducting gain-of-function research at inadequate biosafety levels.
- “Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) researchers were sick with a COVID-like virus in the fall of 2019, months before COVID-19 was discovered at the wet market.
- “By nearly all measures of science, if there was evidence of a natural origin it would have already surfaced.”
The report further criticized the government for failing to “efficiently, fairly, and transparently adjudicate claims” for injuries caused by the COVID-19 vaccine.
Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) said in a statement, “This work will help the United States, and the world, predict the next pandemic, prepare for the next pandemic, protect ourselves from the next pandemic, and hopefully prevent the next pandemic. Members of the 119th Congress should continue and build off this work, there is more information to find and honest actions to be taken.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a distrust in leadership. Trust is earned. Accountability, transparency, honesty, and integrity will regain this trust. A future pandemic requires a whole of America response managed by those without personal benefit or bias,” he continued. “We can always do better, and for the sake of future generations of Americans, we must. It can be done.”