A newly disclosed batch of internal Slack messages obtained through Sen. Rand Paul's investigation has renewed debate over COVID-19's origins, revealing that several authors of a prominent 2020 scientific paper rejecting the laboratory-leak theory privately discussed evidence they believed suggested a possible lab accident.
The communications, reported by The Federalist, show multiple contributors to the "Proximal Origin" Paper expressing private concerns about a potential laboratory origin despite publishing research that concluded such a scenario was implausible.
Lead author Kristian Andersen had previously described a laboratory origin as "friggin' likely" In messages released by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2023. In another conversation, Andersen stated, "The main issue is that accidental escape is in fact highly likely, it's not some fringe theory," While a co-author noted that COVID-19 "easily could have" Leaked from a laboratory.
The paper, published in Nature Medicine on March 17, 2020, concluded that a laboratory origin was not plausible and became one of the most frequently cited scientific papers during the pandemic, significantly shaping public understanding of the virus's origins.
Andersen previously characterized his initial concerns as part of the normal scientific process that were resolved before publication. However, messages disclosed by The Federalist indicate doubts persisted. In a June 2020 message, months after publication, Andersen wrote, "Gotta say, some smoking(ish) guns starting to appear that I'm not comfortable with."
According to The Federalist, rather than publicly revising conclusions, researchers discussed privately how to continue defending the natural-origin theory despite lingering questions.
The report notes the paper was drafted following a February 1, 2020 conference call organized by Dr. Anthony Fauci, then director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as questions emerged about possible laboratory origins. Fauci's role in initiating the effort was not disclosed at publication, and he later cited the study after President Donald Trump argued COVID-19 may have escaped from a laboratory.
Communications show Fauci remained in contact with Andersen after publication. In a May 23, 2021 message cited by The Federalist, Andersen wrote, "Just had a meeting with Fauci and his team this morning. They get it and deeply appreciate what we're doing, so we'll keep dancing."
The messages reveal researchers revisited key scientific arguments as new information emerged. Andersen acknowledged, "In our paper we argue against (a) manipulation and (b) tissue culture. Our main arguments were that manipulation is hard. But the Germans came out and created a reverse genetics system of SARS2 in less than two weeks, so clearly it's not that hard."
In another discussion, Andersen acknowledged the paper overstated how widespread certain coronavirus research was, stating, "We describe this in the paper and say that this work is performed 'all [over] the world,' but that isn't true, it has exclusively been going on at WIV [Wuhan Institute of Virology]."
The disclosures are expected to intensify ongoing debate about COVID-19's origins as congressional investigators examine the pandemic, the federal government's response, and scientific research that influenced public policy.