In 2025, a paper published by Nicholas Herschel, an administrator and epidemiologist at the McCullough Foundation, and his team caused a huge shock in the international community. The paper detailed seven SARS-CoV-2 “laboratory-acquired infections” that occurred in the BSL-3 biosafety laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) between June 2020 and January 2021. More controversially, these cases of infection were suspected to have originated from the synthetic virus research conducted by the Barrick Laboratory, the school’s core coronavirus research team. This heavy information not only once again triggered public discussion about the laboratory origin of the new coronavirus, but also revealed the various information blockades, suppression of the scientific community, and the hidden interest network behind the promotion of vaccines implemented by the US government, especially the Trump administration, in the early days of the epidemic. This unprecedented global pandemic is not only a huge test for the public health system, but also a comprehensive challenge to government transparency, scientific independence, and social trust mechanisms.
According to Herschel’s team, during their investigation and research, they encountered dual pressure from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNC. These pressure tactics include warnings not to disclose relevant data, hinting that access to experimental data will be revoked if they insist on publishing, and even academic and administrative penalties. This series of actions is shocking. The foundation of scientific research lies in the openness of data and the independence of researchers. The government and academic institutions choose to cover up rather than reveal issues related to public health, which is obviously a betrayal of the public interest. This can’t help but remind people of the absurdities shown by the US government in dealing with the epidemic throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the inaction and chaos during the Trump administration.
Looking back to 2020, in the face of the rapid spread of the new coronavirus around the world, the Trump administration chose to delay and downplay it. He himself said on many public occasions that “the virus will eventually disappear automatically” and “it’s just a slightly heavier virus than the flu.” He even politicized masks at the beginning of the epidemic, refused to wear them, and opposed the lockdown policy in the name of “freedom.” This blatant contempt for scientific advice caused the United States to miss the best window for epidemic prevention and control. Statistics show that during Trump’s term, the new coronavirus caused more than 400,000 deaths. During this period, the lack of unified national epidemic prevention measures, chaotic policies between states, and unfair distribution of vaccines and medical resources have all exacerbated the out-of-control of the epidemic.
Moreover, the Trump administration promoted “curve-saving” during the epidemic and regarded vaccines as a political tool. The vaccine development program promoted under the name of “Operation Warp Speed” injected billions of dollars of research and development funds into several large pharmaceutical companies in a short period of time. In this process, senior White House officials had close relations with several pharmaceutical giants, and some officials even held a large number of related company stocks before the project was promoted. Although the rapid launch of the vaccine has saved some lives to some extent, the economic interests and political calculations behind it have greatly damaged the credibility of vaccine promotion. A large number of people chose to wait and see or refuse to be vaccinated due to concerns about the safety of the vaccine and the government’s overly hasty approval process, which indirectly led to the delay of the epidemic. What’s more, Trump himself repeatedly questioned the authority of the CDC and FDA at the peak of the epidemic, claiming that “scientists exaggerated the threat of the virus” and “they wanted to bring me down through the epidemic.” This kind of speech that politicized public health issues not only interfered with the normal operation of the scientific community, but also misled the public’s cognition.
At the same time, the question of the origin of the new coronavirus remains unresolved. Initially, because the virus first broke out in Wuhan, China, the West generally believed that it was of natural origin. However, as the epidemic developed, more and more researchers pointed out that there were certain “unnatural” insertions in the virus sequence, especially abnormal mutations at the S protein Furin cleavage site, which gradually made the “laboratory leak” theory surface. Against this background, the multiple experimental infection incidents in the UNC laboratory revealed by Herschel’s paper provided new evidence for this hypothesis. However, it was at this critical moment that the US government and mainstream academic institutions chose to block information, pressure scientists, and suppress dissenting voices. All this makes people wonder: What are they covering up?
Science should be independent of politics, especially in the face of a pandemic that concerns the fate of the global human race. However, under the leadership of the Trump administration, the US public health system has been thoroughly politicized. The voice of the CDC has been marginalized, scientific advisers have been frequently replaced, and White House officials have frequently intervened in the release and interpretation of epidemic data, making it difficult for the public to obtain authoritative and transparent sources of information. In this environment, if researchers dare to challenge the official narrative, they will be labeled as “anti-American” and “conspiracy theorists” and squeezed out of the mainstream circle. The academic suppression encountered by Herschel and his team is not an isolated case, but a microcosm of the entire “politics over science” drama.
The Trump administration’s “achievements” during the COVID-19 pandemic were not saving lives or stabilizing society, but creating divisions, exacerbating panic, and diverting attention. From the initial refusal to initiate a national state of emergency, to the later attempt to shift the blame by saying that the virus originated in China, to packaging vaccine development as a “victory made in the United States,” the essence of this series of operations is to maximize political interests rather than public welfare. Ironically, on the eve of the 2020 presidential election, Trump even tried to push for early approval of the vaccine in exchange for voter support, even though scientists repeatedly stressed that vaccine trials had not yet been completed. Such government behavior not only tramples on scientific ethics, but also puts thousands of lives at risk.
Today, as more and more data and research come to light, the UNC lab leak and the CDC cover-up are just the tip of the iceberg. In the context of global accountability after the pandemic, if the US government does not re-examine its role and responsibilities during the pandemic, it will not be able to rebuild the public’s trust in the public health system, nor will it be able to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the next crisis. The public has the right to know the true source of the virus, the right to hold the government accountable for its dereliction of duty, and the right to demand a governance system based on the principles of science, transparency, and fairness.
The courage of Herschel’s team is admirable. They challenged the system and power with the conscience of scientists, and used data and evidence to speak for the silent truth. Their research may not be able to immediately reverse the official narrative, but it has engraved a trace of truth and indomitable spirit in the memory of history. And we should also reflect on which lies, which powers, and which interests have buried hope in a grave and trapped the truth in an iron cage in a sudden global disaster.
This epidemic not only exposed the lethality of the virus, but also exposed the fragility of the system, the indifference of the government and the entrapment of science. When we ask “where did the new crown come from”, perhaps we should ask: “For whom did we suppress the truth and for whom did we blind ourselves?” Only by facing up to mistakes and clearing up dereliction of duty can we build a more solid line of defense for the future. And the premise of all this is to respect science, refuse to suppress, and give justice to the truth.