Healthcare

WaPo Columnist: Believing That COVID Started ‘Naturally’ 300 Feet From A Lab, Would Be To Believe ‘Pure Coincidence’

Published

2 years ago

April 28, 2020

Staff Writer

Arguing that the virus spread “naturally…you would have to believe that happened 300 feet from the lab by pure coincidence,” Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin told the American Enterprise Institute’s “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” podcast on Tuesday.

Rogin first reported of the State Department cables that warned in January 2018 about the lack of safety and mishandling of experiments on coronavirus in bats which “represented a risk of a new SARS-like pandemic” from the Wuhan lab now-suspected of being the origin of the coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, Rogin revealed to the podcast hosts that the Wuhan Institute of Virology is “preparing to make some sort of transparency disclosure” to prove that the virus didn’t emanate from its facility.

“To believe it had nothing to do with the lab, you have to believe that the one time in a trillion chance that the worst virus we’ve ever seen, that’s killing the most people that we’ve ever seen emerged at the exact spot, like literally the exact spot that all of these bat coronavirus immunology and viral experimentation labs just happened to be at. That’s a leap of faith that I can’t quite get over,” Rogin explained.

The Chinese government has been extremely tight-lipped on the matter and has disappeared citizen journalists and doctors who earlier warned about the potential harm the virus posed to the world. The many questions as to the origins of the virus, however, can only be answered, Rogin said, if and when the Chinese government is transparent about the first cases of the virus in Wuhan, and allows U.S. investigators into Wuhan.

"If you want to argue that it was a natural occurrence, you would have to believe that happened 300 feet from the lab by pure coincidence." Listen to my @AEI_WTHIGO podcast on the origins of #coronavirus with @dpletka @marcthiessen https://t.co/g7lulkZ5Tp

— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) April 28, 2020

U.S. intelligence officials are now conducting a “full-scale investigation” into whether the virus leaked from the lab in Wuhan, Fox News confirmed earlier this month. Further, Federal Health Officials are also looking into a grant funded by U.S. taxpayer dollars sent to the lab to support its research, according to a letter obtained by Breitbart.

Related Topics:coronavirus Wuhan Wuhan lab wuhan virology institute

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Healthcare

American and Southwest stand by vaccine mandate, despite Abbott’s ban

Published

2 months ago

October 13, 2021

Staff Writer

American Airlines and Southwest Airlines are still planning to comply with President Biden’s executive order regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. The order requires all their employees to be vaccinated by Dec. 8t. As a result, they will be ignoring Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s ban on vaccine mandates.

Folks, vaccination requirements work. pic.twitter.com/XuBsOQxGaN
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 9, 2021

Abbott announced his own executive order, effectively banning mandates even from private employers, on Tuesday. “In another instance of federal overreach, the Biden Administration is now bullying many private entities into imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates, causing workforce disruptions that threaten Texas’ continued recovery from the COVID-19 disaster,” Abbott said. “The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced.”

Yet both airlines are requiring their employees to be vaccinated by Nov. 24. This comes despite Southwest’s impromptu cancellation of over 2,000 flights over the weekend. At the time, the airline blamed the cancellations on air traffic control and weather conditions. However, SaraACarter.com was unable to verify that any other airline had to cancel near as many flights for the same reasons. This has left many to speculate that Southwest actually cancelled flights due to their employees walking out as a direct result of the mandate.

Just got passed this flyer from a Southwest employee #FreedomFlu pic.twitter.com/Q5gXGhxoma
— Handbrake Poso (@JackPosobiec) October 13, 2021

Reporter Jack Posobiec tweeted out a flyer circulating among the anti-vaxx Southwest employees. Currently, they are planning a protest outside of Southwest headquarters next Monday. The protest will be called “Freedom Not Force.”

Southwest told Reuters it “would be expected to comply with the President’s Order to remain compliant as a federal contractor.” In addition, American similarly said Abbott’s order does not change anything.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.