Physician-Scientist Steven Quay Provides Open Letter Response to WHO Report: Five Undisputed Facts Support the Laboratory Origin of the COVID Virus

Rhea-AI Summary

On March 30, 2021, Dr. Steven Quay, CEO of Atossa Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ATOS), published an Open Letter addressing the WHO report, emphasizing evidence supporting the lab origin of COVID-19. The letter outlines five undisputed facts indicating the likelihood of a laboratory-acquired infection. Dr. Quay calls for recognition of these facts to prevent future pandemics. He has shared the letter with over thirty global scientists, including WHO investigators, and advocates for a moratorium on gain-of-function research to avoid similar crises.

Positive

• Dr. Steven Quay provided a detailed analysis that may influence public understanding of the COVID-19 origins.
• The Open Letter has the potential to spark discussions on laboratory safety and gain-of-function research.

Negative

• The assertion of a laboratory origin could lead to increased scrutiny and potential backlash against Atossa Therapeutics.
• Dr. Quay's controversial stance may alienate some stakeholders and impact investor sentiment.

SEATTLE, March 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- An Open Letter concerning the WHO Report was published today by Dr. Steven Quay, M.D., PhD., CEO of Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATOS), entitled, "To Stop the Next Pandemic, Evidence that is Undisputed Favoring Lab Origin of COVID Needs to Be Acknowledged." The Open Letter can be downloaded from Zenodo, a general-purpose open-access repository operated by CERN, here: Open Letter to the WHO. A short 'explainer' video about the paper can be found here: Open Letter - Video Explainer

The purpose of the Open Letter is to help readers of the WHO report understand the five facts that scientists agree on and which support the conclusion that an accidental laboratory-acquired infection was likely responsible for the COVID pandemic.

The five undisputed facts are:

• COVID-19 wasn't smoldering in the community before the epidemic broke out, as was observed with previous coronavirus epidemics.
• Despite an intense search, neither the COVID virus, nor any close relative, has yet been found in nature, unlike prior natural zoonoses. The closest viral relative is from the laboratories of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, near the epicenter of the first cases.
• The COVID virus had little genetic diversity at the outset, unlike prior natural zoonoses. It was genetically pure, like the man-made vaccines being rolled out.
• The COVID virus's powerful infectious trigger isn't found anywhere in its related viral group in nature but has been repeatedly inserted into viruses by laboratory scientists, including at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
• The virus was highly adapted for infection of people from the start, unlike prior natural zoonoses. Growing viruses in humanized mice is a common technique to hone their lethal abilities.

"Because I strongly believe this COVID virus was a gain-of-function experiment that went wrong, we owe the families of the 2.7 million who died answers to why this happened," stated Dr. Quay. "Because without this recognition, and the public debate on whether gain-of-function experiments should continue, the next pandemic is right now being created somewhere in the dozens of laboratories around the world doing these dangerous experiments. Maybe it's time for the moratorium on gain-of-function research to be restored before the next pandemic arrives."

To try to assist the WHO in its process, a pre-publication copy of this Open Letter was sent to over thirty scientists worldwide, including the WHO investigators, Wuhan Institute of Virology scientists, US NIH and National Academy of Medicine leaders, as well as other prominent virologists.

About Steven Quay, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Steven Quay has 360+ published contributions to medicine and has been cited over 10,000 times, placing him in the top 1% of scientists worldwide. He holds 87 US patents and has invented seven FDA-approved pharmaceuticals which have helped over 80 million people. He is the author of the best-selling book on surviving the pandemic, Stay Safe: A Physician's Guide to Survive Coronavirus. He is the CEO of Atossa Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ATOS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for oncology and infectious diseases.

He received his M.D. and Ph.D. from The University of Michigan, was a postdoctoral fellow in the Chemistry Department at MIT with Nobel Laureate H. Gobind Khorana, a resident at the Harvard-MGH Hospital, and spent almost a decade on the faculty of Stanford University School of Medicine. A TEDx talk he delivered on breast cancer prevention has been viewed over 220,000 times.  His scientific manuscript entitled, "A Bayesian analysis concludes beyond a reasonable doubt that SARS-CoV-2 is not a natural zoonosis but instead is laboratory derived," has been viewed over 115,000-time. For more information, visit www.DrQuay.com

Public Relations Contact: 
Dunn Pellier Media | t: 571.243.6865
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SOURCE Dr. Steven Quay

FAQ

What is the Open Letter by Dr. Steven Quay about?

The Open Letter discusses evidence supporting the lab origin of COVID-19 and outlines five undisputed facts related to this conclusion.

How does Atossa Therapeutics relate to the WHO report?

Atossa Therapeutics is represented by its CEO, Dr. Steven Quay, who authored the Open Letter addressing findings from the WHO report.

What are the five undisputed facts regarding COVID-19 mentioned in the Open Letter?

The facts highlight the absence of prior infections, lack of natural relatives found, low genetic diversity at onset, laboratory-inserted viral traits, and early human adaptation.

What is Dr. Quay's stance on gain-of-function research?

Dr. Quay advocates for a moratorium on gain-of-function research to prevent the potential emergence of future pandemics.

When was the Open Letter regarding the WHO report published?

The Open Letter was published on March 30, 2021.