The COVID-19 pandemic has come to an end. The number of acute cases has substantially decreased, people are returning to the office, and its prevalence in social media has all but dried up—with a potential new pandemic—waiting on the horizon. However, before we move on, it’s important to reflect and ask: What caused the biggest pandemic of the 21st century?
After four years the question of how the virus found its way to humans has yet to reach a definitive conclusion.
There are currently two prevalent theories: One involves natural origins and the other involves lab derivation. Many, however, have overlooked a third possibility—one that we have yet to uncover.
Unicorn Virus
Much like the mythical unicorn, which represents something rare and extraordinary, the COVID-19 virus poses a unique set of challenges and dangers unlike those presented by any other virus we have encountered, making it a formidable and unprecedented threat to global health.
The COVID-19 virus’s unprecedented features—pathogenicity and transmissibility—are beyond what any virologist or doctor has previously encountered.
The original Wuhan COVID-19 virus could spread widely throughout the body, starting in the lungs and affecting various vital organs, including the brain, heart, blood vessels, liver, kidneys, and intestines.
- ACE2 receptor binding: The virus has used its key—or spike protein—to bind to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, which is the gatekeeper of our cells, allowing the virus entrance.
- Inflammation and cytokine storm: Once inside, the spike protein triggers inflammation, which can cause an extreme immune response (cytokine storm) that can lead to multiple organ failure.
- Blood vessel damage: The spike protein can damage blood vessels, causing blood clots in vital organs that can lead to severe complications such as heart attack, stroke, and sudden death.
1. Natural Origin Theory
One of the major proposed causes of COVID-19 is rooted in a natural origin.
The virus can’t survive outside of a living organism—coronaviruses that cause severe diseases in humans usually have a natural reservoir, which is often bats. These reservoirs allow the virus to persist in nature and occasionally jump to humans or other animals, leading to outbreaks.
For COVID-19, however, there are two key reasons why many challenge the natural origin possibility.
No Confirmed Natural Host
Despite extensive investigative efforts, no animals have been confirmed as the natural host of COVID-19.
Unlike SARS and MERS, no animals have been confirmed as the natural host of the COVID-19 virus, despite extensive investigative efforts. Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock
Unique Features Defy Odds
All coronaviruses have a spiky crown composed of spike proteins. The spike protein is divided into two parts: S1 and S2.
- S1 is the binding component analogous to the biting of a door key, which inserts into the lock. It allows for the virus to attach to host cells.
- S2 acts as the key’s base, or bow, supporting S1 and facilitating the unlocking process.
The “keys” of the COVID-19 virus—specifically, its spike protein—can be inserted into the lock via ACE2 receptors in our bodies more easily and quickly than those of other close relatives. This contributes to its high transmissibility and widespread impact.
Scissors function like keys with sawtooth patterns that fit perfectly into locks. Strikingly, the COVID-19 virus has precisely the required human scissor-cut point—12 additional nucleotides—in the location between the S1 and S2 subunits of its spike protein. This insertion is perfectly positioned for human enzymes to cleave the spike protein efficiently, which helps the virus enter human cells.
Among the betacoronavirus family, only the COVID-19 virus has the unique FURIN cleavage sequence. Illustratioin by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock
“Mathematically, this finding—by itself—implies that the probability of encountering a natural SARS-related coronavirus possessing an FCS is less than one in 800,” he added.
Other unique genetic codes of the COVID-19 virus have further reduced the odds of natural evolution.
According to molecular clock theory, it would take a long time—potentially several hundred thousand years—for the virus RaTG13 to naturally evolve into COVID-19, and there is no evidence to support such a lengthy evolutionary period. Consequently, scientists do not convincingly regard RaTG13 as the ancestor virus of COVID-19.
To put it simply, virologists cannot identify a reasonable ancestor virus for the COVID-19 virus based on current scientific theories. Nevertheless, there is some debate over these calculations, and not all experts rule out natural evolution.
2. Lab Origin Theory
Before we delve into lab origin, we should make one thing clear: Whether the COVID-19 virus came from the Wuhan lab or not, the lab’s history of risky and unethical research—which operates under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—is a root problem that needs to be dealt with.
The COVID-19 outbreak originated in a city where the world’s most advanced laboratory research on SARS-like viruses has been conducted. This is the main reason the lab-origin scenario was considered.
Risky Research
In the Wuhan lab, virologists have used bat coronaviruses to manipulate SARS-like viruses for at least a decade.
Apart from the naturally occurring bat virus (WIV1), the other coronaviruses found to bind to human ACE2 receptors are the SARS virus, COVID-19 virus, and the purported four created by the WIV through GOF studies—the three viruses mentioned in the above leaked NIH report and the SHC014-MA15 virus reported in the 2015 Nature Medicine study.
Though the viruses engineered by WIV have not been proven to be the same as those of COVID-19 viruses, WIV intends to alter and enhance the functions of bat coronaviruses.
Eventful Period: October Through November 2019
CCP reported that the first case of COVID-19 occurred on Dec. 1, 2019, with the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Market as ground zero.
Multiple investigative reports have revealed that a severe, mysterious infection had already silently emerged in Wuhan at least two months before.
It should be noted that this and other genomic studies were retrospective and can’t definitively confirm transmission, although these findings point to the possibility.
If that week’s ILI cases were caused by COVID-19 infection, considering an incubation period of two to 14 days, the infection-occurring period would fall into the week of Nov. 16 or earlier—the same time frame as reported by the above-mentioned U.S. genomic study report.
“By mid-October 2019, the dedicated team at the U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan knew that the city had been struck by what was thought to be an unusually vicious flu season. The disease worsened in November. When city officials began to close public schools in mid-December to control the spread of the disease, the team passed the word to Embassy Beijing and continued monitoring.”
There is a potential answer for how COVID-19 cases could have come to Europe so early:
The Missing Pieces in Lab Origin
Put simply, the Chinese lab has been conducting risky studies. Additionally, the CCP appears to have been hiding the facts about when COVID-19 first started—as they have a record of doing with other outbreaks, such as the 2003 SARS outbreak.
Therefore, many scientists have leaned toward the Wuhan lab leak hypothesis.
However, one question is overlooked: Were the WIV virologists even capable of creating the COVID-19 virus, the virus that infected hundreds of millions of people worldwide, paralyzing the world’s economy and causing the biggest pandemic since the Spanish Flu in 1918?
There is no smoking gun-level evidence that WIV created the same virus as COVID-19. The viruses produced from the GOF research found in WIV are still very different from the COVID-19 virus, though they have similar features.
Having a goal and experimenting in the lab doesn’t necessarily result in the desired outcome. WIV may wish to increase the function of the bat-derived coronavirus, but they might neither have been able to design the virus that caused a global pandemic nor control the outcome of their GOF research process.
On the one hand, manipulating viruses could result in the creation of something extremely harmful; on the other hand, it may also lead to a virus that is less potent than COVID-19.
We have no idea without further investigation that WIV deliberately created COVID-19. Current speculation is based on circumstantial observations.
Though many scientists have leaned toward the Wuhan lab leak hypothesis, the lab-created coronaviruses were very different from the COVID-19 virus. Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock
3. The Third Option Theory
Science can’t explain everything.
If neither the natural nor the lab origin definitively explain the emergence of the COVID-19 virus, this raises the possibility that our current scientific theories may be too limited to fully account for its origin. In other words, a third option—of which we are still unaware—could be possible.
Science has greatly advanced our understanding of the world, providing explanations for countless phenomena through observation, experimentation, and empirical evidence.
Nevertheless, it has its limitations—numerous fundamental scientific questions remain unanswered.
Many fundamental scientific questions remain unanswered, despite significant advances made by researchers. Screenshot via The Epoch Times
For instance, the origins of humans and human consciousness are still largely not elucidated and researchers continue to puzzle over such topics, although progress has been made in their understanding.
While Charles Darwin proposed the theory of evolution 165 years ago, he could not explain the origin of many biological species. There are numerous mysteries about species evolution that Darwin could not explain, which often frustrated him.
Such mysteries abound and underscore the limitations of contemporary science. As we continue to explore, it’s vital to acknowledge that certain higher concepts may lie beyond the reach of scientific inquiry, encouraging us to adopt a broader perspective.
When science hits a ceiling, we can better understand life’s origins only by breaking through. We need to discard outdated notions to simplify our understanding of life’s origins, including the emergence of the COVID-19 virus.
CCP Should Be Held Accountable
While the virus’s origins remain a mystery, we cannot overlook the WIV risky gain-of-function research. When humans manipulate nature without adhering to ethical guidelines, the potential for unforeseen disasters increases dramatically.
The WIV has crossed established boundaries of safety and ethics. Whether the engineered viruses are released from their labs or not, their reckless experiments have placed the global population at substantial risk.
We must conduct a thorough investigation into the lab’s documentation of the virulent viruses and animals they have been studying, as they have consistently obstructed access to experts and investigations.
Moreover, since the COVID-19 outbreak, the CCP has repeatedly delayed reporting and attempted to cover up the situation, hindering a coordinated global response.
China was once famous for its authenticity and morality. After the CCP took over in 1949, under the totalitarian regime, ethics became loose and fear rose. People with power dared to do risky things, and when disastrous events occurred, various parties involved wanted to be clear of suspicion.
Regardless of the ultimate origin of the virus, the CCP’s totalitarian regime, lack of accountability, and opaque policies have led to the harm of millions of lives. They must be held accountable for their actions.
While the CCP must be held accountable for the disastrous global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ultimate origin of the virus may lie beyond the laboratory and current scientific understanding, as many unknowns still exist. It is essential for us to remain open-minded, appreciate what we have, and uphold tradition and human values to better protect ourselves from future pandemics.
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