Coronavirus lab leak possible, top Chinese scientist says

Workers disinfect a school following a COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China, in August 2021. (China Daily via Reuters) The debate over the origins of the coronavirus has largely been conducted in the West, despite the fact that the pathogen originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Chinese authorities have officially maintained a vague stance, meant largely to deflect criticism. Meanwhile, scientists who may hold clues to how the pandemic began — likely sometime in late 2019 — appear to have been silenced. That changed ever so slightly this week, when George Gao, the former head of the Chinese Center for…