Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner
Scott Gottlieb said Sunday that accidental lab leaks "happen all the
time" amid mounting concern regarding the origins of the COVID-19
pandemic.
Gottlieb expressed concern about
safety protocols at research labs in the U.S. and abroad during an
appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation." The former commissioner said a
conclusive determination on where the pandemic originated was critical
to prevent deadly outbreaks in the future.
"These kinds of lab
leaks happen all the time, actually," Gottlieb said. "Even here in the
United States, we’ve had mishaps, and in China, the last six known
outbreaks of SARS-1 have been out of labs, including the last known
outbreak, which was a pretty extensive outbreak that China initially
wouldn’t disclose that it came out of a lab."