Outgoing National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins told Fox News on Sunday that he’s “sorry” the Wuhan lab-leak theory has become such a “huge distraction” for the country, despite there being “no evidence” to support it.
Collins joined “Fox News Sunday” on his last day in office after more than a decade in the agency’s top position. The geneticist and physician tapped by President Barack Obama to lead the NIH in 2009 dodged questions about his efforts to discredit the lab-leak theory at the onset of the pandemic, maintaining the most plausible explanation is that the virus spread through animal-to-human transmission.
“I’m really sorry that the lab leak has become such a distraction for so many people because frankly, we still don’t know,” Collins told host Bret Baier.
As for the new omicron variant, Collins said the U.S. should brace for a “world of trouble” the next couple of months, based on its higher transmissibility than the previous strains, which “pale by comparison.”
Baier pointed to recent data out of South Africa that could point to milder symptoms and fewer hospitalizations from omicron.
“I am hopeful that that is an indication that while incredibly contagious, this virus may be a bit less likely to make people sick,” Collins said, “and obviously that is something we have got to hope for, or our health systems are going to be overwhelmed.”
Yael Halon is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to yael.halon@fox.com.
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