Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), privately expressed skepticism about the Wuhan wet market being the source of COVID-19 as early as January 2020, according to diary entries released by Sen. Rand Paul. These private thoughts contrast with years of public statements made by Fauci.
In a Jan. 26, 2020, diary entry, Fauci wrote, "It now appears using epi data and genomic data that the first infection was in early December and was not connected to the market." He noted that the virus had weeks to spread among people before Chinese authorities reported the new infection. "Remember, early on the Chinese were saying that there is no human to human transmission and all the original 27 cases were from the market," he wrote. "Now we know the market was not the source, it was the amplifier," he added, while still believing the virus jumped from animals to humans.
Despite these private reflections, Fauci maintained in interviews throughout 2020 and 2021 that the market was indeed the origin of SARS-CoV-2. For instance, in an April 3, 2020, interview on "Fox & Friends," he responded to a question about closing wet markets by stating that the current outbreak was a "direct result of that." Nearly 20 months later, on Nov. 28, 2021, during an appearance on CBS News' "Face the Nation," he stated, "I don’t think you could say that" when asked if the origin was outside the market. He elaborated that while the exact origin was unknown, Wuhan wet markets offered "ample opportunity for a virus to jump from an animal that gets brought in from all parts of China."
Even as recently as June 2024, Fauci reiterated in congressional testimony and his memoir that a Wuhan wet market was the most likely origin. He wrote in his memoir, "On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service," that "experienced evolutionary virologists" determined the virus emerged from "infected animals brought illegally into the market."
These revelations have drawn criticism from former Trump administration officials. Ken Cuccinelli, who served on the White House COVID Task Force, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Fauci "never said this to us, even as the source was a subject of intense interest."
Fauci also privately noted concerns about asymptomatic transmission as early as Jan. 26, 2020. He wrote, "GAME ON!!! Things are changing rapidly. Dr. Ma Xiaowei, the Chinese Minister of Health gave a press statement saying that the incubation period of nCoV is 1 to 14 days and that the virus is being transmitted when people are asymptomatic!" He added, "This has enormous implications for how we handle people from Wuhan... Should we quarantine them. I am very skeptical about the Chinese interprepation of their data."
Two days later, in public remarks, Fauci stated, "The driver of respiratory outbreaks is symptomatic people, not asymptomatic carriers."
Fauci is scheduled to testify before Sen. Rand Paul's Senate Homeland Committee regarding his tenure at NIAID and the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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