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Comment by Simon Wain-Hobson

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Virologist and Biosafety Now contributor
Their dismissive tone is all the sadder in that they pushed the erroneous sentence that Two distinct genetic lineages of SARS-CoV-2 were identified in samples from early cases associated with the Huanan market which is 100% wrong.
AI Verified (Mar 25, 2026)
Source:
Simon Wain-Hobson, "WHO wordplay on COVID origins," Biosafety Now, March 25, 2026.
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Policy proposals and claims
The clustering of early cases around the Huanan market reflects where the COVID-19 virus emerged, not just where testing looked
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AI Verified The quote is relevant because it attacks a specific evidentiary claim about early Huanan-market-associated cases that the source presents as part of its broader criticism of arguments for a market-centered origin. In context, the author says the cited sentence about 'two distinct genetic lineages' in early market-linked cases is '100% wrong,' which strongly signals a determinable stance on whether the market clustering reflects true emergence there rather than merely how cases were found. ([biosafetynow.substack.com](https://biosafetynow.substack.com/p/who-wordplay-on-covid-origins)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 2h ago
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AI Verified He calls the market-linked early-case sentence "100% wrong" and says the article’s zoonotic conclusion is "premature" because key information is missing, so he is rejecting the claim that the early concentration around the Huanan market shows true emergence there. The "not just where testing looked" part is inferred rather than stated verbatim. ([biosafetynow.substack.com](https://biosafetynow.substack.com/p/who-wordplay-on-covid-origins)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 2h ago

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AI Verified Verified. The source URL is fetchable and shows the article "WHO wordplay on COVID origins" by Simon Wain-Hobson, dated Mar 25, 2026. The exact quoted sentence appears in the body of the article at line 51, matching the submitted wording and attribution. ([biosafetynow.substack.com](https://biosafetynow.substack.com/p/who-wordplay-on-covid-origins)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 2h ago
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