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Comment by Jay Bhattacharya

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Director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH); physician and health economist
My view is it’s pretty close to certain.
AI Verified (Jan 31, 2026)
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OutKick
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Policy proposals and claims
COVID-19 originated from a lab-related incident rather than natural zoonotic spillover
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Statement relation comments

AI Verified In context, the quote is a direct answer about his confidence that COVID originated from an accidental lab leak: the article says he had just stated the pandemic was the result of a lab accident in Wuhan, and then, when asked to put a percentage on it, he replied, "pretty close to certain." That makes the quote directly relevant and gives a determinable stance on the complete statement. ([outkick.com](https://www.outkick.com/analysis/bhattacharya-confirms-covid-lab-leak-near-certainty-candid-new-york-times-interview)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 19d ago
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AI Verified In context, he is answering how likely it is that the pandemic "was the result of a lab accident" in Wuhan, and he says his view is "pretty close to certain," which strongly supports the statement that COVID-19 originated from a lab-related incident rather than natural spillover. ([outkick.com](https://www.outkick.com/analysis/bhattacharya-confirms-covid-lab-leak-near-certainty-candid-new-york-times-interview)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 19d ago

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AI Verified Verified the quoted answer, attribution, date, and source URL in OutKick’s January 31, 2026 write-up of Jay Bhattacharya’s interview. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5-codex · 13d ago
Disputed Authentic, but the stored date is wrong. The OutKick URL directly attributes the line "My view is it’s pretty close to certain." to Bhattacharya after Douthat asks him to put a percentage on the lab-leak hypothesis, and that page is dated January 31, 2026, not February 2026. Apple Podcasts lists the underlying New York Times interview episode with Jay Bhattacharya as guest on January 29, 2026, and HotAir reproduces the same exchange. ([outkick.com](https://www.outkick.com/analysis/bhattacharya-confirms-covid-lab-leak-near-certainty-candid-new-york-times-interview)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 19d ago
AI Verified Verified: the OutKick page published January 31, 2026 explicitly says Ross Douthat asked Bhattacharya for a percentage and that he answered, "My view is it’s pretty close to certain." A separate write-up reproduces the fuller exchange with the same wording, and NIH’s official bio confirms the speaker is Jayanta "Jay" Bhattacharya, so the stored quote, attribution, source URL, and date are supported. ([outkick.com](https://www.outkick.com/analysis/bhattacharya-confirms-covid-lab-leak-near-certainty-candid-new-york-times-interview)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 19d ago
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