"US NIH Deletes COVID-19 Information at China's Request"

WSJ: "Virus Data Extracted from Early Wuhan COVID-19 Patients Deleted"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been accused of deleting virus genetic information secured early in the COVID-19 outbreak at the request of Chinese scientists.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 23rd (local time) that there are concerns that crucial information to determine the origin of COVID-19 may have disappeared.

This claim was made known after Dr. Jesse Bloom of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle published a paper on the 22nd.

Dr. Bloom explained that the data deleted by the NIH contained genetic information of viruses extracted from patients in Wuhan, China, who were confirmed or suspected of having COVID-19 and hospitalized during January and February of last year.

In an email sent to The Washington Post (WP), Dr. Bloom said, "I am not criticizing the NIH for deleting the data," but added, "However, deleting it may violate scientific ethical standards or credibility."

Dr. Bloom pointed out that issues of transparency in China arise during the process of researching the origin of COVID-19.

This is because to study the origin of COVID-19, access to information about how the virus penetrated the body and began spreading is necessary.

If the information stored at the NIH is deleted, it will hinder research into the origin of COVID-19.

The NIH stated that scientists who submitted genetic information last June requested deletion of past data to avoid confusion as they updated with new data.

Regarding the reason for deleting the data, the NIH explained in a statement, "The scientist who submitted the information has the authority to request deletion," and "Chinese scientists submitted COVID-19 genetic information and requested deletion three months later, which we complied with."

Earlier, Chinese scientists submitted genetic information to the NIH in March of the same year and also published materials explaining the information.

A World Health Organization (WHO) official who conducted investigations in Wuhan explained, "The facts understood by WHO will not change significantly because of Dr. Bloom's research."

The WSJ reported that neither the Chinese National Health Commission (NHC) nor the scientists who submitted the information responded to these reports.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.