Dr. Robert Redfield interviewed by Dr. Marc Siegel in Fox News exclusive
Part II of Dr. Siegel's interview on 'The Story'
In an exclusive interview with Fox News' Dr. Marc Siegel, former CDC Director Robert R. Redfield Jr. warned scientists against expressing "arrogance" in their work that could lead to dangerous pitfalls due to their haste.
During a larger discussion on the dangers of gain-of-function research, and the potential for lab-leak scenarios as posited by many Americans following the coronavirus pandemic, Redfield warned against too much self-confidence in the scientific community.
Redfield said that some scientists and researchers tend to show "arrogance" toward the infallibility of their work, believing that nothing can or will go wrong.
"It may be, in fact, that unfortunately that's not true anymore, that something did go wrong, and not intentionally," said Redfield.
In regard to theories about lab leaks, Redfield added that there is a possibility a worker or workers could have contracted a virus and simply been asymptomatic – leading to further infections that weren't so.
"It's not unfeasible that this virus escaped asymptomatically. And eventually, as cases developed in the elderly, we began to recognize an epidemic," said Redfield.
"I've already told my own personal opinion, and it's worth just what it is. You know, I'm a virologist. I was head of CDC at the time of the pandemic and I've worked with China for more than 20 years," the former Trump administration official added.
"My view is that it's more likely that this came from the laboratory than it came from nature."
For months, simple conjecture about the lab leak theory and other claims not supported by the scientific establishment has been censored or dismissed, including on social media.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
On Monday, the lab-leak theory was again brought to the fore when activist and comedian Jon Stewart "reunited" with his former "Daily Show" colleague Stephen Colbert on CBS, and deadpanned about the potential that a virus originating in Wuhan could indeed have come from a Wuhan virology lab.
During his interview with Siegel, Redfield added that there could have been more emphasis on testing for asymptomatic carriers of COVID – describing a "Manhattan Project" of public health response in that regard; a reference to Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer's endeavor to produce fissile material for a nuclear bomb during World War II.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.