China had only declared human transmission of the virus five weeks prior.
News that Zhou filed a patent for a vaccine so quickly suggests Chinese officials may have known about the virus much earlier than they admitted.
Zhou is also said to have worked closely with the deputy director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Some scientists have theorized that the virus was created inside that lab before it inadvertently leaked out.
Zhou died in mysterious circumstances in May 2020 - less than three months after filing the patent. (...)
