News Summary

• Newly released documents and internal messages regarding a 2018 coronavirus research proposal reveal scientists’ concerns that the Chinese lab — which is now at the center of the COVID-19 lab leak theory — would be viewed by US officials as a safety risk..
• But some scientists said they saw enough to believe lab techs were responsible for the worldwide pandemic two years after the draft proposal was rejected..
• According to the new documents, the researchers had planned to conduct a portion of the research at the Wuhan lab where safety precautions are not up to US standards, according to US Right to Know, a nonprofit public health research group..
• The draft proposal was made public in 2021 and raised speculation that the coronavirus pandemic may have been caused by an infected lab tech or the improper disposal of hazardous waste from the Wuhan facility..
• The proposal was later edited and BSL-2 was changed to BSL-3, noting that the lower level of biosafety standards would “likely freak out” US scientists..
• US reseachers [sic] will likely freak out.”DARPA never funded the research and the work was never done, EcoHealth Alliance said in a statement Tuesday..