Coronavirus: Thread

[grarpamp]

Lancet Editor Comes Clean, Admits He Knew Peter Daszak Had
'Significant, Regrettable' Conflicts Of Interest

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10320621/Brit-scientist-took-year-declare-links-Chinese-lab-opposing-Covid-lab-leak-theory.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9649259/Doctor-warned-pandemic-coming-slammed-having-conflict-interest.html
https://thenationalpulse.com/news/ecohealth-alliance-joins-ny-pri/

The editor of The Lancet - one of the world's most prestigious medical
journals - has admitted that he knew about a controversial
researcher's conflicts of interest when he published a letter
denouncing the Covid lab leak theory, and called anyone who questioned
it a conspiracy theorist.

"It took us over a year to persuade him to declare his full competing
interest, which we eventually did in June of this year," admitted
Lancet editor, Dr. Richard Horton during testimony in front of UK
Parliament's Science and Technology Select Committee, referring to
NIH-funded Peter Daszak of Ecohealth Alliance.
Richard Horton (pictured), the editor of the Lancet, admitted he knew
about the lead author behind a letter denouncing the Covid lab-leak
theory Peter Daszak's Chinese affiliations more than a year before the
journal published an amendment (via the Daily Mail)

It took The Lancet 16 months to publish and official conflict of
interest statement acknowledging Daszak's ties to the Wuhan Institute
of Technology.

"100%, I completely agree, the information that we published in June
as an addendum should definitely have been included in the February
letter," he told the MPs. "In this particular case, regrettably, the
authors claim that they have no competing interests, and of course…
there were indeed competing interests that were significant,
particularly in relation to Peter Daszak."

Conservative MP Aaron Bell told Horton that he'd done "too little, too
late," and asked whether the original Lancet letter had "served to
close down scientific debate," according to the Daily Mail.
Peter Daszak (right) toasts with Wuhan "Bat Lady" Shi Zhengli

Daszak, who had been genetically manipulating bat coronaviruses in a
Wuhan lab to make them more transmissible to humans, organized the
'natural origins' letter in February 2020 which was signed by 26 other
leading researchers who condemned 'conspiracy theories' regarding the
origins of Covid-19.

Was The Lancet itself conflicted?

    The Lancet established an office in Beijing, in addition to its
New York office and London headquarters, in 2010.

    In 2015, Dr Horton travelled to Beijing to receive the Friendship
Award from China – the highest honour awarded to 'foreign experts who
have made outstanding contributions to the country's economic and
social progress'.

    He claimed China faced a 'blame game' over the origins of the
pandemic, despite admitting that it had denied the World Health
Organisation access to crucial information needed for an investigation
into the cause of the outbreak.

    Leaked emails earlier this year revealed it was Dr Daszak who
drafted the Lancet letter dismissing non-natural causes of the
pandemic, such as a lab leak, as conspiracy theories. -Daily Mail

Daszak, meanwhile, has been accused of a 'bullying' campaign behind
the scenes to ensure that blame for Covid was directed away from his
partners at the Chinese lab.

"The Lancet letter was scientific propaganda and a form of thuggery
and intimidation," said Jamie Metzl, who sits on the World Health
Organization's advisory committee on human genome editing and is a
former Bill Clinton administration staffer.

During the session, Harvard scientist Dr. Alina Chan said the Wuhan
lab leak is now the most likely origin of the Covid-19 pandemic
because China tried to cover it up, and because experts still haven't
found a natural reservoir despite extensive searching. She also
highlighted several coincidences in the Covid timeline, adding that
China's state-sponsored information suppression campaign in the early
stages of the pandemic added to suspicion.

"I think the lab origin is more likely than not," said Chan, adding:
"Right now it's not safe for people who know about the origin of the
pandemic to come forward."

"But we live in an era where there is so much information being stored
that it will eventually come out. We have heard from many top
virologists that a genetically engineered origin is reasonable and
that includes virologists who made modifications to the first Sars
virus."

Yet, despite all evidence that Daszak has not been acting in good
faith, the National Pulse notes that he's been appointed by New York
state to aid in its pandemic response.