'Given that the COVID pandemic almost certainly started from a Chinese lab in Wuhan, the operation of a secret Chinese lab illegally dealing with infectious agents on U.S. soil should raise at least one red flag, shouldn’t it?' -ZacharyFaria
The lab, which was operating secretly and unpermitted in Reedley, California, was dealing with at least 20 infectious agents, including HIV, hepatitis, and herpes, though lab workers claimed the lab was making only pregnancy tests and COVID-19 tests. Prestige Biotech, the Chinese company that took over Universal Meditech and set up shop at the warehouse in Reedley, had its COVID tests recalled earlier this year.
But that detail doesn’t change the series of red flags in this story. The lab was operating illegally, without a permit, in secrecy. It was being run by a Chinese company that is registered in Nevada. According to Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba, Universal Meditech or Prestige Biotech had also been “kicked out” of Canada and Texas before setting up its locations in Fresno, Reedley, and Tulare, another California city in which the company had operated from 2015-2019.
The lab contained several infectious agents that appear to have nothing to do with COVID tests, along with 200 dead mice. None of this was permitted, and Prestige Biotech was not registered as a medical waste generator. The company then wanted to move its lab and infectious agents to a new location right next to Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
On top of all of this, Prestige Biotech appears to have received $150,000 in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, according to a letter from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Jim Costa . That money was paid in April 2020 and April 2021, meaning that the second installment was paid after Prestige Biotech had moved its operations and the assets from Universal Meditech into the secret, illegal Reedley location.
There should be investigations and inquiries by both Congress and the California government. Just as importantly, there should be a national conversation about this lab, its activities, and the possibility that there are more labs like it across the country.
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