CNN’s Tirrell: NIH Employees Walked Out After Bhattacharya Mentioned Lab Leak Theory ‘A Lot of Scientists’ Don’t Believe

On Monday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell reported on NIH employees walking out of a talk by the agency’s Director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, when he mentioned the lab leak theory of the origins of COVID-19 and stated that “we should note that a lot of scientists believe that, in fact, COVID was a result of a natural spillover from animals.”

Tirrell said that the employees “started to leave just as Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya started talking about the origins of the COVID pandemic and his belief that the NIH may have funded research that helped lead to it.”

She then played video of Bhattacharya saying, “If that’s true, it’s nice to have free speech. Welcome you guys. So, if it’s true that we sponsored research –.”

Tirrell then stated, “Now, we should note that a lot of scientists believe that, in fact, COVID was a result of a natural spillover from animals. But Dr. Bhattacharya there is saying that the NIH should be careful not to do that, kind of, as he put it, risky research. But as I talked with folks who were involved in this walkout, many of them union members, representing a union of early career scientists at the NIH, they said they had actually pre-planned this walkout as a protest over working conditions at the NIH.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett