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Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump White House purges COVID website. ‘Lab leak' theory replaced it
If you're looking to the White House for information on the COVID-19 pandemic, look elsewhere. As of last week, the Trump administration replaced its longstanding information website on the pandemic with one promoting the much-contested 'lab leak' theory that the virus originated in Wuhan, China, before spreading worldwide, killing more than 7 million people. The page, dubbed 'Lab Leak: The true origins of COVID-19″ features an image of President Donald Trump striding purposefully forward. Some 1.1 million Americans died from COVID-19 during Trump's first term. The old website, which was in place until Friday, connected people to information about COVID vaccines, treatment, testing and long COVID, NBC News reported. The website also formerly helped people find pharmacies and community health centers that offered COVID tests, medical visits and medications at once, NBC News reported. A sibling site, allowed people to order free COVID tests to their homes. That now redirects to the White House's lab leak website as well. The new website declares that 'The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2' publication — which was used repeatedly by public health officials and the media to discredit the lab leak theory — was prompted by Dr. [Anthony] Fauci to push the preferred narrative that COVID-19 originated naturally." In a statement, the White House defended its decision, saying it had been 'very clear that, in contrast to the previous administration, we WILL be the most transparent administration in U.S. history. Nothing will stop us from innovating and finding creative ways to uphold our end of the bargain.' The content on the website largely is derived from a report by the Republican-led Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which had been investigating the virus's origins for about two years. That report concluded that the virus 'most likely emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China,' and included what it described as the " five strongest arguments in favor" of that conclusion. The White House's new website repeats those top 5 arguments verbatim from the House Republicans' report. The Central Intelligence Agency also recently shifted its stance to favor the lab leak theory, The New York Times reported. The White House website also includes charges that the former Biden administration 'obstructed' the House committee's investigation of the virus's origins. Despite the government's confident proclamations on the virus's origins, expert and academic opinion on its origin remains split. Many scientists continue to believe that the virus emerged at a wild animal market in Wuhan. A September 2024 study by biologists Michael Worobey and Angela Rasmussen concluded it was traced to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. 'This market wasn't just somewhere the virus eventually got to after spreading widely in Wuhan,' Worobey told NPR in 2024. 'There's very clear indications that that's where the jump successfully took place and human-to-human spread began.' Another study published by more than 20 scientists in Cell, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, concluded that no epidemic had ever been caused by the escape of a novel virus. It also concluded that there was no data to suggest Wuhan Institute of Virology or any other lab was working on COVID-19, Fortune reported. 'No case of laboratory escape has been documented following the sequencing of viral samples,' the study's authors wrote, according to Fortune. 'Despite extensive contact tracing of early cases during the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been no reported cases related to any laboratory staff at the WIV.' Despite the shift from the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to track the number of COVID-19 cases nationwide and resulting hospitalization rates. Elon Musk could soon leave DOGE because of 'nasty and unethical attacks' Why a pro-Trump ex-Pentagon official is now 'exiled' from the MAGA movement Debt collection will soon start for defaulted student loans. Here's when. Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty to run for reelection Trump's Republican critics hit his flip-flop on weaponizing the IRS
Forbes
18-04-2025
- Health
- Forbes
White House Pushes ‘Lab Leak' Theory On New Covid Website
Americans seeking information from the White House about COVID-19 testing or vaccinations are now greeted by a new website, which no longer includes easily accessible information about treatment and prevention of the disease. WASHINGTON, DC: Dr. Anthony Fauci (L), director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious ... More Diseases, speaks as U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a briefing on the coronavirus pandemic, in the press briefing room of the White House on March 24, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by) Both and now redirect to a site promoting the 'lab leak' theory, a claim that COVID-19 emerged from an accidental leak from researchers working on viruses at a lab in Wuhan, China, rather than at the Huanan Market in Wuhan, the latter of which is supported by a March 2020 report published in Nature Medicine by scientists across the globe that was widely cited by public health officials during the height of the pandemic. The information on the updated COVID site comes from the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, according to a note at the bottom of the page, and the committee's report titled 'After Action Review of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Lessons Learned and a Path Forward' is downloadable on the site. The report says vaccines 'undoubtedly saved millions of lives by diminishing likelihood of severe disease and death,' but also says the Biden administration and public health officials exaggerated their effectiveness. The new site also says preventative measures such as mask mandates, social distancing and lockdown restrictions caused more harm than good, and calls out 'failures' of the pandemic response by the World Health Organization and National Institutes of Health. It's unclear exactly when the site was updated, but Axios and other news outlets are reporting it was launched Friday. An April 10 snapshot of from an internet archive shows the site formerly provided a plethora of resources for prevention and treatment, underlining the importance of vaccinations with, 'People who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccine have lower risk of severe illness,' highlighted at the top of the page. 'The Trump administration has been very clear that, in contrast to the previous administration, we WILL be the most transparent administration in U.S. history. Nothing will stop us from innovating and finding creative ways to uphold our end of the bargain,' White House spokesman Kaelan Dorr told Forbes in an emailed response to questions about the launch of the updated site. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID site still urges everyone over six months old to get a COVID-19 vaccine, but the agency is considering narrowing its vaccine recommendations, CNN reported (the CDC did not immediately return Forbes' request for comment Friday afternoon). The lab leak theory, which claims the pandemic emerged from a leak in the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory, has been floated by President Donald Trump since 2020. While most public health officials and scientists stand by evidence pointing to COVID-19's origins in a Wuhan seafood market, some federal agencies have thrown support behind the idea. Most recently, the CIA released a statement in January supporting the lab theory, The New York Times reported, but there was no new information behind the agency's shift. Scientific experts have repeatedly rejected this theory, including the authors of the report published in Nature Medicine who said they 'do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible." The Chinese Foreign Ministry has also denied claims that the pandemic began in a laboratory. Trump has long been a critic of the Biden administration's pandemic response, including his pardon of former Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci. In January 2025, former President Joe Biden pardoned Fauci to guard him from potential revenge from Trump, who butted heads with Fauci during his first term, the Associated Press reported. The updated site says the Nature Medicine report about COVID's origins 'was prompted by Dr. Fauci to push the preferred narrative that COVID-19 originated naturally.' Beyond Fauci, the new website also denounces the pandemic response actions of Fauci's senior adviser Dr. David Morens and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The nonprofit medical research center Mayo Clinic still recommends getting the vaccine, even if you've already contracted COVID-19 in the past. The CDC's still allows users to enter their ZIP code to find pharmacies nearby offering the vaccine. The cost of vaccinations is covered by most health insurance plans, but the CDC offers resources for those who are uninsured. Measles Updates: 800 Cases In U.S. As Majority Of Outbreak Remains In Texas (Forbes) Trump Administration Demands Harvard Disclose Foreign Funding—Escalating Feud (Forbes)
