Early COVID-19 Vaccine Patent In China Raises New Questions For U.S. Investigators
A Chinese patent for a COVID-19 vaccine filed just weeks after the virus emerged in the United States is drawing fresh scrutiny from U.S. investigators examining the origins of the pandemic and potential efforts to conceal early information about the virus.
The February 24, 2020, patent application – submitted by three Chinese entities affiliated with the People's Liberation Army – outlines a process for developing a 'COVID-19 protein vaccine.' The document, which predates the World Health Organization's declaration of a global pandemic, lists 11 inventors. Among them are two scientists affiliated with a neuroscience institute within the Chinese military – a detail that has puzzled U.S. officials, given that neurological symptoms of COVID-19 were not widely known or studied at the time.
The participation of researchers from the Institute of Military Cognition and Brain Sciences – a division of the Academy of Military Sciences in Beijing – has raised particular concern among federal investigators. The institute, which has drawn attention from U.S. defense analysts in recent years, plays a role in the Chinese military's emerging focus on cognitive warfare – the strategic use of neuroscience in national defense, Just the News reports.
'Significantly, their published research provided limited, or no data of neuropathology observed in the experimental animals, or the neuroprotection afforded by the vaccine,' wrote Dr. Robert Kadlec, a former senior Health and Human Services official, in a 2023 report examining the origins of the pandemic. 'Institute of Military Cognition researchers' involvement in such studies suggest an interest in the vaccine's protection against SARS-CoV-2 early in the outbreak before evidence of its neurological effects were widely known.'
Dr. Kadlec, who served in the Trump administration and played a central role in Operation Warp Speed, was among the first U.S. officials to question why neuroscientists were included in early Chinese vaccine development. His report, titled A Critical Review of COVID-19 Origins: Hidden in Plain Sight , was published last September.
Other figures on Capitol Hill have voiced similar concerns. Representative Darin LaHood, Republican of Illinois and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, recently stated that the cover-up of COVID-19's early emergence in China should be understood in the context of Beijing's broader strategic ambitions.
'China has a plan to replace the United States, and they're working at it every single day,' Mr. LaHood said in a podcast interview this week. 'They want to beat us technologically, militarily, economically and diplomatically. And the sooner we wake up to that, the better.'
'… And we've seen evidence of this through Huawei and what China… has done with Huawei, what they've done with TikTok, what they've done now with Deep Seek, what they did… in terms of lying and being deceitful with the Wuhan virus,' he continued.
Possibly part of that effort: Chinese military strategists are actively developing new methods for using neurology to gain advantages on the battlefield, according to Elsa Kania, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for New American Security.
'On the battlefield, attempts to undermine an adversary could include interfering with the adversary's capacity for cognition, whether through manipulation or out-right destruction, from disrupting the flow of data to exploiting ideology or emotion,' she wrote in January 2020 for U.S. National Defense University magazine, Prism, which focuses on 'emerging disruptive technologies.' -Just the News
At the center of the February 2020 vaccine patent is Zhou Yusen, a senior military scientist at the State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity. Zhou, who previously collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology on SARS and MERS vaccines, is among the 11 listed inventors. According to Senate researchers, Zhou died under unclear circumstances in the months following the outbreak.
The presence of neuroscientists on the patent application – including Yan Li and Gencheng Han – has intensified questions about what Chinese scientists may have known about COVID-19's broader physiological effects in the earliest days of the outbreak. A separate scientific paper identifies both researchers as members of the Institute of Military Cognition and Brain Sciences. At the time the patent was filed, neurological symptoms of COVID-19 were not widely reported or understood by Western scientists.
Subsequent studies have shown that COVID-19 can have long-lasting neurological effects. A 2022 study published in Nature found that survivors of COVID-19 faced elevated risks of conditions including strokes, memory disorders, migraines, and seizures in the months following infection. Researchers at Duke University reported neurocognitive impairments and sleep disturbances lasting up to three months in some patients.
The earliest Chinese study documenting COVID-19's neurological symptoms was published in April 2020. According to the study, which was based on clinical data from Wuhan, patient monitoring was still underway five days before the vaccine patent was filed.
The new questions about the early vaccine patent follow revelations this week that a Defense Intelligence Agency unit concluded in mid-2020 that COVID-19 was likely genetically engineered and leaked from a laboratory. That internal study, which described the virus's spike protein as a 'chimera,' was not included in official U.S. intelligence assessments. It was only released following Freedom of Information Act requests and is now part of the ongoing congressional investigation.
The Defense Intelligence Agency analysis traced elements of the COVID-19 virus back to a decade-old scientific manuscript published by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has worked closely with the Chinese military on coronavirus research, according to the U.S. intelligence community.
Taken together, these findings are intensifying scrutiny of early Chinese responses to the virus, as well as raising new questions about what information may have been known – and withheld – in the earliest stages of the global pandemic.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Insider
a day ago
- Gulf Insider
Early COVID-19 Vaccine Patent In China Raises New Questions For U.S. Investigators
A Chinese patent for a COVID-19 vaccine filed just weeks after the virus emerged in the United States is drawing fresh scrutiny from U.S. investigators examining the origins of the pandemic and potential efforts to conceal early information about the virus. The February 24, 2020, patent application – submitted by three Chinese entities affiliated with the People's Liberation Army – outlines a process for developing a 'COVID-19 protein vaccine.' The document, which predates the World Health Organization's declaration of a global pandemic, lists 11 inventors. Among them are two scientists affiliated with a neuroscience institute within the Chinese military – a detail that has puzzled U.S. officials, given that neurological symptoms of COVID-19 were not widely known or studied at the time. The participation of researchers from the Institute of Military Cognition and Brain Sciences – a division of the Academy of Military Sciences in Beijing – has raised particular concern among federal investigators. The institute, which has drawn attention from U.S. defense analysts in recent years, plays a role in the Chinese military's emerging focus on cognitive warfare – the strategic use of neuroscience in national defense, Just the News reports. 'Significantly, their published research provided limited, or no data of neuropathology observed in the experimental animals, or the neuroprotection afforded by the vaccine,' wrote Dr. Robert Kadlec, a former senior Health and Human Services official, in a 2023 report examining the origins of the pandemic. 'Institute of Military Cognition researchers' involvement in such studies suggest an interest in the vaccine's protection against SARS-CoV-2 early in the outbreak before evidence of its neurological effects were widely known.' Dr. Kadlec, who served in the Trump administration and played a central role in Operation Warp Speed, was among the first U.S. officials to question why neuroscientists were included in early Chinese vaccine development. His report, titled A Critical Review of COVID-19 Origins: Hidden in Plain Sight , was published last September. Other figures on Capitol Hill have voiced similar concerns. Representative Darin LaHood, Republican of Illinois and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, recently stated that the cover-up of COVID-19's early emergence in China should be understood in the context of Beijing's broader strategic ambitions. 'China has a plan to replace the United States, and they're working at it every single day,' Mr. LaHood said in a podcast interview this week. 'They want to beat us technologically, militarily, economically and diplomatically. And the sooner we wake up to that, the better.' '… And we've seen evidence of this through Huawei and what China… has done with Huawei, what they've done with TikTok, what they've done now with Deep Seek, what they did… in terms of lying and being deceitful with the Wuhan virus,' he continued. Possibly part of that effort: Chinese military strategists are actively developing new methods for using neurology to gain advantages on the battlefield, according to Elsa Kania, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for New American Security. 'On the battlefield, attempts to undermine an adversary could include interfering with the adversary's capacity for cognition, whether through manipulation or out-right destruction, from disrupting the flow of data to exploiting ideology or emotion,' she wrote in January 2020 for U.S. National Defense University magazine, Prism, which focuses on 'emerging disruptive technologies.' -Just the News At the center of the February 2020 vaccine patent is Zhou Yusen, a senior military scientist at the State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity. Zhou, who previously collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology on SARS and MERS vaccines, is among the 11 listed inventors. According to Senate researchers, Zhou died under unclear circumstances in the months following the outbreak. The presence of neuroscientists on the patent application – including Yan Li and Gencheng Han – has intensified questions about what Chinese scientists may have known about COVID-19's broader physiological effects in the earliest days of the outbreak. A separate scientific paper identifies both researchers as members of the Institute of Military Cognition and Brain Sciences. At the time the patent was filed, neurological symptoms of COVID-19 were not widely reported or understood by Western scientists. Subsequent studies have shown that COVID-19 can have long-lasting neurological effects. A 2022 study published in Nature found that survivors of COVID-19 faced elevated risks of conditions including strokes, memory disorders, migraines, and seizures in the months following infection. Researchers at Duke University reported neurocognitive impairments and sleep disturbances lasting up to three months in some patients. The earliest Chinese study documenting COVID-19's neurological symptoms was published in April 2020. According to the study, which was based on clinical data from Wuhan, patient monitoring was still underway five days before the vaccine patent was filed. The new questions about the early vaccine patent follow revelations this week that a Defense Intelligence Agency unit concluded in mid-2020 that COVID-19 was likely genetically engineered and leaked from a laboratory. That internal study, which described the virus's spike protein as a 'chimera,' was not included in official U.S. intelligence assessments. It was only released following Freedom of Information Act requests and is now part of the ongoing congressional investigation. The Defense Intelligence Agency analysis traced elements of the COVID-19 virus back to a decade-old scientific manuscript published by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has worked closely with the Chinese military on coronavirus research, according to the U.S. intelligence community. Taken together, these findings are intensifying scrutiny of early Chinese responses to the virus, as well as raising new questions about what information may have been known – and withheld – in the earliest stages of the global pandemic.
Gulf Insider
2 days ago
- Gulf Insider
South Korea Lab Makes Bird Flu 100% Lethal In Mammals
South Korean scientists have conducted a lab experiment that made a purported wild avian influenza 'bird flu' virus 100% lethal in mammals, achieving total death in infected mice by enabling the virus to adapt inside their bodies and spread to others. The dangerous move comes as the U.S. develops a 'next-generation' universal vaccine platform called 'Generation Gold Standard' that will focus on avian influenza jab creation, signaling a coordinated international push to engineer and preemptively vaccinate against lab-enhanced bird flu strains with pandemic potential—despite worldwide fallout from similar COVID-era June 2025 in Virology Journal , the study describes how researchers at Konkuk University infected mice with a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain—one that already contained a small percentage (4%) of a mammalian-adaptive mutation known as PB2-E627K. That tiny minority of mutant virus was enough to take over and kill every infected host. 'All challenged mice died by 8 dpc. Transmission through direct-contact occurred in 100% of cases, and all contact mice died within 12 days.' This was not an accidental discovery. Researchers intentionally infected mammals with a virus they knew contained a mutation that helps bird flu spread and replicate more effectively in mammals, including humans. Once inside the mice, the mutation exploded to near-total dominance—not just in the lungs, but in the brain, where it caused seizures, ataxia, and fatal neurological damage. 'The PB2-E627K variant, initially present at 4% in the virus stock, was selected and reached near-fixation (~ 100%) in the lungs and brains by 6 days post-challenge and was subsequently transmitted.' 'In dead direct-contact mice, the E627K mutation in PB2 was found at a proportion of 99.8–100% in both the lungs and brains.' The virus became neurotropic—targeting the brain—and caused seizures and other neurological symptoms before death. 'Two out of three direct-contact mice displayed significant neurological symptoms, including seizure, ataxia, and bradykinesia.' This is precisely the kind of gain-of-function-style research that Congressional hearings and federal reports have linked to the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic—a disaster that killed over a million Americans and possibly far more if COVID vaccine injury data is fully accounted for. 'Even a small proportion of mammalian-adaptive mutations can quickly become dominant as the virus serially transmits between mammals.' The virus strain used in the study—isolated from a wild duck in Korea—was given to mice intranasally at high dose. After just one round of infection, the mutation that enables efficient replication in mammals (PB2-E627K) went from 4% to nearly 100%, and was then passed to other mice who also died. 'In experiment 2, with a 1:1 challenge-to-contact ratio, all the challenged mice died. Transmission occurred in 50% of cases; three out of six contact mice died.' This was not nature running its course—this was a deliberate laboratory setup that triggered a lethal evolutionary pathway, with full awareness of the risks. No genetic engineering was needed—just the right environment and host to favor viral adaptation. This is exactly the kind of procedure that reportedly allowed a bat coronavirus to become a pandemic-capable human pathogen in Wuhan. 'These findings highlight the need for continuous genomic monitoring to detect mammalian adaptation markers and assess interspecies transmission risks.' Yet this isn't the only high-risk bird flu experiment South Korea is conducting. Just a month earlier, South Korean scientists published another Virology Journal paper revealing that they had engineered a chimeric H5N1 virus using hallmark gain-of-function (GOF) techniques—combining gene segments from three different influenza viruses to increase the virus's heat resistance, alter host targeting, and enhance human cell entry. 'Recombinant viruses were generated using a pHW2000 plasmid-based reverse genetics system.' 'Combining the R90K and H110Y mutations (22W_KY) resulted in a synergistic increase in thermal stability and maintained HA activity without measurable reduction even after 4 h at 52 °C.' '22 W HA and 22 W NA genes, along with six internal genomic segments (PB2, PB1, PA, NP, M, NS) from PR8 and a PB2 gene from 01310 containing the I66M, I109V, and I133V (MVV) mutations' The study also confirmed enhanced antigen uptake and intracellular penetration in human cells: 'The highest level of intracellular entry was observed for BEI_22W_KY, confirming its superior effectiveness in penetrating cells.' These GOF enhancements—increased thermostability, host retargeting, and replication modulation—were achieved without any mention of special oversight or biosecurity risk assessments, despite the White House having confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic was caused by a virus engineered using similar techniques. The timing raises concern, especially as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently launched a $500 million 'next-generation' bird flu vaccine initiative, drawing direct parallels between vaccine development programs and risky virological engineering. If any of these engineered viruses escape containment—accidentally or intentionally—they could ignite a global pandemic, ironically the very scenario these experiments claim to prevent. This particular mouse-killing study was performed in Biosafety Level 3 facilities at Konkuk University, sanctioned by the university's Institutional Biosafety and Animal Care Committees: 'All experiments involving viable HPAI H5N1 viruses were conducted at a Biosafety Level (BSL)-3 facilities (Konkuk University) in accordance with procedures approved by the Konkuk University Institutional Biosafety Committee (approval no. KUIBC-2024-06).' 'Animal infection studies were reviewed, approved, and supervised by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Konkuk University (approval no. KU24080).' The COVID pandemic taught the world what happens when supposed mammal-adaptive viruses leak from research settings. Yet instead of a global moratorium on these reckless experiments, labs are still running trials that kill every mammal they infect—and worse, documenting how to do it again. Also read: Saudi Arabia Edge South Korea On Penalties To Reach AFC U-17 Asian Cup Final
Daily Tribune
4 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Covid-19 Cases Climb in India: Kerala Worst Affected, New Variant Detected
India is witnessing a steady rise in Covid-19 cases, with Kerala remaining the worst-hit state and newer variants continuing to fuel the spread. Health authorities are urging caution, especially for vulnerable populations, as the national active caseload has reached 6,491. In the past 24 hours alone, 358 new infections were reported across the country, with no deaths recorded. The surge is attributed to the continued circulation of Omicron subvariants LF.7 and XFG, along with the recently identified NB.1.8.1. Kerala under close watch Kerala continues to report the highest number of active cases, with 1,957 confirmed infections as of June 4. Ernakulam, Kottayam, and Thiruvananthapuram districts remain the most affected. Health Minister Veena George reiterated the importance of protecting the elderly and people with comorbidities, emphasizing that while the new variants are not as severe, they are highly transmissible. Hospitals in the state have been directed to test symptomatic individuals—particularly those showing signs such as cold, cough, sore throat, or shortness of breath—and to ensure sufficient oxygen supply. Mask-wearing in public and medical settings has been made mandatory. Rising cases in Gujarat and Delhi Outside Kerala, Gujarat reported a sharp spike with 158 new infections, raising its active case count to 980—the highest single-day increase among all states. Delhi followed with 42 new cases, taking its tally to 728. Maharashtra and several other states are also witnessing an uptick. No mass boosters, but caution advised Despite the increasing numbers, health experts are advising against launching a mass Covid-19 booster vaccination campaign. Instead, they recommend targeted protection for high-risk individuals such as the elderly and immunocompromised. The presence of widespread hybrid immunity—developed from past infections and vaccinations—has reduced the severity of recent cases for the general population. Central advisory issued The central government has issued a health advisory to all states and union territories, urging them to remain prepared for localized outbreaks. Public health officials have also cautioned against confusing Covid-19 with common viral fevers, which often share similar symptoms. Preventive measures, including wearing masks, avoiding crowded places, and maintaining hand hygiene, continue to be strongly recommended as the country navigates this latest wave.
