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When researchers in Italy published a paper last November claiming to have found evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in that country as early as September 2019 — four months before the first official case of Covid-19 — the World Health Organization took immediate notice.
According to Reuters, the WHO asked the group — with ties to Italy’s National Cancer Institute (INT) — for more information and a chance
“to discuss and arrange for further analyses of available samples and verification of the neutralization results”.
As WebMD reported then:
If the initial history of the pandemic shifts, public health officials may need to consider new screening tools to test people who don’t have COVID-19 symptoms. Better screening could contain future waves of the pandemic and asymptomatic spread, the authors wrote.
Now, Tumori Journal, which published the study, has expressed concern about the findings. More precisely, the journal says it has doubts about the peer review process that vetted the paper.
Continue reading Paper claiming presence of SARS-CoV-2 in Italy in 2019 earns expression of concern