CBS News reports 'scientists say' there's no evidence to back former CDC director's theory on Covid-19 origin (and people have thoughts)

Doug P. | 4:03 PM on March 27, 2021

Yesterday we told you about former CDC Director Robert Redfield telling CNN’s Sanjay Gupta that it’s his belief that the Covid-19 virus originated in a Wuhan, China lab and escaped in September or October of 2019.

Now there’s a CBS News “scientists say” report that attempts to shoot down the former CDC director’s theory:

"No evidence" to support former CDC director's theory that coronavirus escaped from lab, scientists say https://t.co/XinmLhf5v4

— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 27, 2021

First of all, maybe “evidence” is scarce because China won’t allow it to be seen. Even the Biden administration has expressed deep concerns over China’s lack of transparency and WHO’s credibility on investigating the origin.

The problem is NOBODY HAS ANY EVIDENCE.

China hid everything. https://t.co/xZRZcv13lO

— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) March 27, 2021

Don't worry, everyone – the WHO team that didn't actually do any investigating, checked any evidence, or did anything that wasn't under the direct supervision of the CCP assures us there is no evidence to support this. https://t.co/UcWyWSQTu0

— Noam Blum (@neontaster) March 27, 2021

Also, apparently “listen to the experts” doesn’t apply to the guy who headed up the CDC.

Some scientists say other scientists wrong

— Sunny McSunnyface (@sunnyright) March 27, 2021

CCP will award full points to CBS News and their cooperative scientists for the appropriate slant of this “news” story. https://t.co/mQGtbmDST8

— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) March 27, 2021

Redfield isn’t the only scientist to have that particular theory:

CBS talked to two scientists to write this article, one of them with a vested interest in the zoonotic theory.

CBS talked to none of the scientists — some who are top minds in the field — who say evidence suggests lab theory is a worthy and, moreover, urgent inquiry. https://t.co/pHNUhSHzPj

— Geoffrey Ingersoll (@GPIngersoll) March 27, 2021

It appears that for the media, the “evidence” is whatever Dr. Fauci says on any given day. That was the case with the CBS News story as well:

Dr. Anthony Fauci addressed Redfield’s comments at Friday’s COVID-19 response briefing and suggested that most public health officials disagree. He noted that if the virus had escaped from a lab, that would mean that “it essentially entered the outside human population already well-adapted to humans.”

“However, the alternative explanation which most public health individuals go by, is that this virus was actually circulating in China, likely in Wuhan, for a month or more before they were clinically recognized at the end of December of 2019,” Fauci said.