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VERIFY: Scientists do not believe the coronavirus is a synthetic virus

Several reports have popped up that the virus was made in a lab. Experts say, so far, there isn't evidence to suggest that.

WASHINGTON — Every day there’s new information on the coronavirus pandemic. It is hard to sort through what is legit and what is fake. That is why we have the Verify team: to get you the facts.

This week, we got an email from a viewer who said they saw a video that claims COVID-19 is not a natural virus, but a synthetic virus. These types of videos have been going around since the pandemic started.

Question:

 Is there any evidence to suggest the COVID-19 is a synthetic virus?

Our Sources:

 The CDC and Johns Hopkins University epidemiologist Dr. David Dowdy.

First thing we did was ask Dr. Dowdy what is a synthetic virus?

“A synthetic virus is essentially a virus that is man-made,” Dr. Dowdy said. “Viruses that are made in laboratories.”

According to the CDC, scientists are still tracking down the origins of the Novel Coronavirus. But a majority of the scientific community reported there is no evidence so far to prove it was made in a laboratory. Dr. Dowdy agrees.

“No one according to our knowledge has ever successfully designed a synthetic virus that could spread from person to person sustained in a population and then released that virus,” he said.

Dowdy won’t go so far as to say it’s scientifically impossible but based on all information right now- the coronavirus does not appear to have been man-made.

Answer:

Based on information from the CDC and John Hopkins University, we are reporting this claim as FALSE.  There is no evidence to suggest COVID 19 is a synthetic virus.

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