In this newly released email, Francis Collins explicitly states that he (then Director of NIH), Anthony Fauci (then Director of NIAID), Jeremy Farrar (then head of the Wellcome Trust), and "Larry" helped draft Proximal Origin--and that their involvement was "appropriately" hidden.
Failing to disclose their involvement at the time was unethical. More troubling, however, is that for years these individuals have continued to deny or minimize their roles rather than acknowledge them and accept responsibility...all while presenting themselves as champions of scientific integrity, honesty, and victims of unjust public attacks.
Nature Medicine, which published Proximal Origin, has been aware of these concerns for years. Yet rather than issuing an editorial expression of concern and initiating a formal investigation into whether this and other alleged ethical violations associated with the paper warrant retraction, the journal has done nothing.
But until the broader scientific community rejects rather than protects this type of behavior, and holds those that engage in it accountable, expect this unethical behavior to continue to be the norm.
Weeks later, that same group of concerned scientists would publish the Proximal Origin shutting down debate that COVID-19 could have come from a lab.
In an internal email, NIH Director Francis Collins notes that he and Fauci helped with the paper ābut are appropriately not mentioned."