US National Institutes of Health, "COVID-19 Virus Sample Data Deleted at China's Request" (Comprehensive)

US Scientist Who Proposed the 'Chinese Origin Theory' Makes Discovery
Global Controversy Over COVID-19 Origin Expected to Intensify

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) revealed that it deleted the initial genetic information of the COVID-19 virus submitted by a Chinese scientist in early last year at the request of the scientist, reigniting controversy over the origin of COVID-19 in the United States. The scientist who first raised suspicions about the NIH's data deletion is known to have strongly advocated the theory that COVID-19 originated in China. Even in the international scientific community, after more than a year since the pandemic began, the exact origin of COVID-19 remains unknown, deepening global suspicions about the China-origin theory.

On the 23rd (local time), the NIH stated in a press release, "The initial genetic information of the COVID-19 virus submitted by a Chinese scientist in March 2020 was deleted from the NIH database three months later at the request of the scientist," adding, "The authority to request deletion of data submitted to the NIH database lies with the scientist who submitted the information." Accordingly, the suspicion raised by U.S. media since the previous day regarding the NIH's deletion of the initial genetic information of the COVID-19 virus has been confirmed as true.

The suspicion was first raised by Dr. Jesse Bloom of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, USA, who published a paper related to this matter the day before. He is known as a scientist who strongly raised suspicions about the theory that COVID-19 originated from the Wuhan Virus Research Institute in China last month.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Dr. Bloom stated, "By deleting the information containing the complete picture of the initial virus sequence, it seems we have not been able to secure the full information of the COVID-19 virus," and added, "Although the deleted genetic information does not provide decisive evidence for either the natural origin theory or the artificial origin theory of COVID-19, it likely contained evidence that this started earlier than the known origin of the COVID-19 virus."

He continued, "Some of the deleted data can still be found in other papers, but generally, scientists try to verify genetic information from major databases like the NIH," and said, "The reason for the lack of information in the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak seems to be due to insufficient efforts to understand it at that time." However, Dr. Bloom clarified, "I am not criticizing the NIH for deleting the data, but deleting it could be considered a violation of scientific ethical standards or credibility."

However, the NIH has repeatedly stated that the deletion was in accordance with regulations and there were no other reasons. The NIH argued that the Chinese scientists who submitted the genetic information in June last year requested deletion of the old data to avoid confusion as they updated it with new data, and that the deletion was carried out according to regulations. Chinese scientists submitted genetic information to the NIH in March last year and also published materials explaining the information. They stated that they used technology to detect 'SARS-CoV-2,' which causes COVID-19.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the Chinese side has remained silent without any response or comment. According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the National Health Commission (NHC) of China and the scientists who submitted the information did not respond to requests for confirmation of the matter.

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