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Ex-CDC Director Robert Redfield believes COVID-19 came from Wuhan lab

The former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the virus that causes COVID-19 escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, according to a new interview.

Robert Redfield told CNN on Friday that it was his “opinion” that SARS-CoV-2 — the new coronavirus responsible for killing 2.7 million people globally — did not evolve naturally.

“I’m of the point of view that I still think the most likely etiology of this pathology in Wuhan was from a laboratory — escaped,” said Redfield, who led the CDC during the height of the pandemic. “Other people don’t believe that. That’s fine. Science will eventually figure it out.”

Researchers believe the deadly and highly transmissible strain of coronavirus behind the global pandemic mutated from a virus that infects animals — namely, bats — to one that sickens humans.

Robert Redfield believes the virus that causes COVID-19 escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, according to a new interview.
Robert Redfield believes the virus that causes COVID-19 escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, according to a new interview. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

But some believe the virus was somehow released from the Wuhan Institute of Virology — which is the only lab in China authorized to study the most dangerous known pathogens, according to Axios.

“It’s not unusual for respiratory pathogens that are being worked on in a laboratory to infect the laboratory worker. … That’s not implying any intentionality,” Redfield said. “It’s my opinion, right? But I am a virologist. I have spent my life in virology.

Some believe SARS-CoV-2 was somehow released from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Some believe SARS-CoV-2 was somehow released from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

“I do not believe this somehow came from a bat to a human and at that moment in time, that the virus came to the human, became one of the most infectious viruses that we know in humanity for human-to-human transmission.”

Redfield said usually when a virus jumps from animals to humans, “it takes a while for it to figure out how to become more and more efficient in human-to-human transmission.”

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Chinese State Media CCTV offered a rare glimpse inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology P4 Lab in February.
Chinese State Media CCTV offered a rare glimpse inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology P4 Lab in February.CCTV
Medical officials prepare to treat a patient with coronavirus in the intensive care unit at a hospital on May 1, 2020 in Leonardtown, Maryland.
Medical officials prepare to treat a patient with coronavirus in the intensive care unit at a hospital on May 1, 2020 in Leonardtown, Maryland.Win McNamee/Getty Images
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People receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in Seattle, Washington, on March 13, 2021.
People receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in Seattle, Washington, on March 13, 2021.JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images
20,000 American flags seen on the National Mall arranged in remembrance of the lives lost at that point in Washington, DC on Sept. 22, 2020.
20,000 American flags seen on the National Mall arranged in remembrance of the lives lost at that point in Washington, DC on Sept. 22, 2020.Win McNamee/Getty Images
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One year into the pandemic, multiple variants of COVID-19 keep cropping up, including some that have shown to be more transmissible than others.

“I just don’t think this makes biological sense,” Redfield added.

SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in Wuhan in December 2019 — with many scientists believing it emerged at a wet market just under nine miles from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

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An aerial view shows the P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China on April 17, 2020.
An aerial view shows the P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China on April 17, 2020.HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images
An ambulance responds to a sick person on January 22, 2020 in Wuhan, China in the very early days of COVID-19.
An ambulance responds to a sick person on January 22, 2020 in Wuhan, China in the very early days of COVID-19.Getty Images
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In this photo taken on January 25, 2020, medical staff wearing protective clothing to protect against a previously unknown coronavirus arrive with a patient at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital.
In this photo taken on January 25, 2020, medical staff wearing protective clothing to protect against a previously unknown coronavirus arrive with a patient at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital.HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images
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But Redfield said he believes the bug was circulating as early as September or October of that year.

A probe by the World Health Organization concluded recently that it was “extremely unlikely” that the virus stemmed from a lab accident — and that it likely originated in animals before it spread to humans.

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A lab technician sorts blood samples for COVID-19 vaccination study at the Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Florida on August 13, 2020.
A lab technician sorts blood samples for COVID-19 vaccination study at the Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Florida on August 13, 2020.CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images
Peter Daszak (R), Thea Fischer (L) and other members of the World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origins of COVID-19, arrive at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on February 3, 2021.
Peter Daszak (R), Thea Fischer (L) and other members of the World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origins of COVID-19, arrive at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province on February 3, 2021.HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images
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Medical officials treat a patient suffering from COVID-19.
Medical officials treat a patient suffering from COVID-19. U.S. Navy via Getty Images
A member of the U.S. Armed Forces administers a COVID-19 vaccine at a FEMA community vaccination center on March 2, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
A member of the U.S. Armed Forces administers a COVID-19 vaccine at a FEMA community vaccination center on March 2, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Mark Makela/Getty Images
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