Correction Notice: We have updated this article to include additional context from an AFP fact check. You can read more here.
Independent experts have confirmed to AFP that researchers at Boston University did not create a more dangerous virus during their study of COVID.
The BU study looked at the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in order to see if spikes in protein could explain why it causes less severe disease.
The study focused on the Omicron spike protein because it carries a large number of mutations and seems to help the virus escape vaccine-induced immunity.
During the study, researchers added the gene for Omicron’s spike (S) to the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 strain first seen in the US.
After researchers combined the two elements, they successfully created “a new iteration of the virus.”
According to AFP, the Omicron “caused mild, non-fatal infections in mice” while the new iteration of the virus “created for the study killed 8 in 10 of them.”
BU researchers say that “this research made the virus replicate less dangerous.”
Professor Craig Wilen of Yale also says the study created a less dangerous iteration of the virus.
The study has not yet been peer-reviewed. Read more at AFP.
