Editor’s note for Tuesday, July 26, 2022
A note for Access newsletter readers from Jeremy Goldkorn.
Two things that caught my eye today:
The origins of COVID-19 is the subject of a new paper published by the prestigious journal Science. This is the abstract:
Understanding how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in 2019 is critical to preventing zoonotic outbreaks before they become the next pandemic. The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, was identified as a likely source of cases in early reports but later this conclusion became controversial.
We show the earliest known COVID-19 cases from December 2019, including those without reported direct links, were geographically centered on this market. We report that live SARS-CoV-2 susceptible mammals were sold at the market in late 2019 and, within the market, SARS-CoV-2-positive environmental samples were spatially associated with vendors selling live mammals. While there is insufficient evidence to define upstream events, and exact circumstances remain obscure, our analyses indicate that the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 occurred via the live wildlife trade in China, and show that the Huanan market was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If Pelosi goes there will be trouble. If she stays it might be double. Kathrin Hille reports from Taipei for the Financial Times:
The pushback from the White House against House Speaker Nancy Pelosiโs plan to visit Taiwan has sparked anxiety in Taipei that the controversy will further compromise its security.
Several people involved in national security policy in Taiwan said the country was trapped between the risk that China would โpunishโ Taipei for Pelosiโs planned visit next month and the risk that Washington would cancel the trip and effectively give China a say in U.S.-Taiwan policy.
Our word of the day is Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia (ไฝ็งโข็ปดๅคๅค zuวkฤ wรฉiduลduล)
