Bret Weinstein on science: what the evidence says · JRE #2198
SUBJECT: SCIENCE
The short answer
Weinstein asserts as established fact that an added furin cleavage site on the spike protein is what made SARS-CoV-2 capable of human-to-human transmission. Laboratory studies support the first part: Peacock et al. (Nature Microbiology, 2021) showed that SARS-CoV-2 lacking the S1/S2 furin cleavage site replicated less efficiently in human airway cells and failed to transmit between ferrets in a direct-contact model, establishing the site as an important determinant of transmissibility.
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
The addition of a furrin cleavage site to spike protein made this thing capable of infecting and spreading between humans. That spike protein was the core of the mRNA shots.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
The claim combines two separate assertions: that the spike protein's furin cleavage site (FCS) is functionally important for transmission, and that this site was artificially "added" rather than naturally acquired. Laboratory studies support the first part: Peacock et al. (Nature Microbiology, 2021) showed that SARS-CoV-2 lacking the S1/S2 furin cleavage site replicated less efficiently in human airway cells and failed to transmit between ferrets in a direct-contact model, establishing the site as an important determinant of transmissibility. The second part, that the site was engineered or deliberately inserted, remains scientifically disputed rather than established. A peer-reviewed analysis by Garry (PNAS, 2022) concluded the FCS sequence and its similarity to the human ENaC channel are inconsistent with deliberate laboratory design and are better explained by natural recombination, though a published rebuttal in the same journal (Harrison & Sachs, PNAS, 2022) argued the question of engineering remains unresolved. A broader review similarly concluded natural selection, not engineering, is the more parsimonious explanation for the FCS's emergence, while noting the debate is not fully closed. The claim that spike protein forms the antigenic basis of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines is accurate and not disputed. Overall status: the transmission-relevance of the furin cleavage site is well-supported, but the assertion that it was deliberately "added" (implying engineering) presents a contested, unresolved question as settled fact.