SARS-CoV-2 is a Real Virus And it HAS Been Isolated on Numerous Occasions
Mercola.com

The virus has actually been photomicrographed,^1,2 whole-genome sequences of the various strains are available,^3,4 and with the appropriate credentials anyone can obtain the live virus to conduct research.

While I am absolutely no fan of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they do grow the virus in cell culture to ensure widespread availability for researchers who want to study it.⁵ Examples of research where you need the actual virus include antiviral research, vaccine development, virus stability research and pathogenesis research.⁶

What's the Confusion?

At least part of the confusion appears to be rooted in how the term "isolated" is defined. Some insist a virus is not isolated unless it's also purified, while others say a virus doesn't have to be purified in order to be "isolated."

Steve Kirsch claims to have asked several experts about this, noting that all, including Dr. Robert Malone and Dr. Li-Meng Yan, say that the virus has indeed been "isolated." "So, it has been 'isolated' according to their belief in what the term means," Kirsch writes, adding:⁷

"Others interpret the term differently and would claim the virus hasn't been isolated. In fact, according to their definition, no virus in history has ever been isolated. That's important to know. They use that as justification for their belief that there is no virus here since viruses don't exist at all."When Kirsch asked his readers for input, one pointed out:⁸

"The real question is ... has it been isolated from a HUMAN subject w/o passing it through (say) Monkey Kidney Cells? Because there is plenty of evidence out there that says it hasn't been isolated directly (no intermediaries) from a HUMAN subject.According to Kirsch, the scientists he spoke with did not agree that this was a concern, and "Sabine Hazan verified that the sequence of the virus obtained from ATCC [the American Type Culture Collection, a global resource center for reference microorganisms] matched exactly what she found in people who have the virus."⁹

As noted in Hazan's paper, "Detection of SARS-CoV-2 From Patient Fecal Samples by Whole Genome Sequencing":¹⁰

The concordance of SARS-CoV-2 detection by enrichment NGS from stools with RT-PCR nasopharyngeal analysis was 100%. Germ Theory and Terrain Theory Both Have Merit

As noted by independent journalist and political analyst Jeremy Hammond in a March 2021 interview,¹¹ the claim that SARS-CoV-2 has never been isolated and actually doesn't exist at all is perhaps one of the most counterproductive arguments of the health freedom movement.

By insisting that there is no virus, and that COVID-19 is caused by things like 5G radiation alone, allows the mainstream media to dismiss entirely legitimate concerns about electromagnetic field exposure (EMF) and 5G — including the possibility that it might make some people more vulnerable to infections.


Comment: Exactly. Whether they are doing it consciously or not, the people driving this movement are spreading misinformation which not only leads many followers astray, but also discredits everyone else in the eyes of the conventional establishment.


Like Hammond, I believe the pathogenesis of COVID-19 involves both germ theory and terrain theory, not just one or the other. "SARS-CoV-2 infection is an insufficient but necessary factor in the pathogenesis of COVID-19," Hammond says, adding that "the virus is constantly being isolated and whole genome sequenced by scientists all over the world."¹²

That said, environmental factors can clearly play a role, in that they can make you more or less predisposed to severe infection when you encounter this virus. This includes EMFs, toxins like glyphosate, previous vaccine injuries and much more.


Comment: Germ theory and terrain theory are NOT mutually exclusive, but rather go hand-in-hand. It is back-and-white thinking to side with one or the other.

People who maintain a healthy "terrain" through eating an unrefined species-appropriate diet, avoid exposure to environmental toxins, practice good sleep hygiene, regularly engage in exercise, and support detoxification have more robust immunity and better defense against infection.

On the other hand, people who regularly consume junk foods, live sedentary lifestyles with erratic sleep schedules have a greater tendency toward low-level chronic inflammation, which significantly hampers innate immunity. When the terrain becomes compromised, the germ is given free passage to take advantage of that scenario. This is one of the reasons why the vast majority of people who die from COVID-19 are those with multiple comorbidities which are generally characterized by chronic inflammation. This is well-established in the scientific literature.


Hammond argues that the "COVID-19 pandemic should be a wake-up call to the human population, and especially the populations of developed countries, about the need to focus on natural means of maintaining good health and living in greater harmony with our natural environment."

Indeed. And, as Hammond points out, pathogenic challenge is absolutely necessary for general good health and strong immunity. When we shield ourselves too much from everyday pathogens, we make ourselves vulnerable to chronic diseases instead.

SARS-CoV-2 Genome Sequencing From Italy

As for whether SARS-CoV-2 has been isolated and exists as a viral entity, the answer appears to be yes. For example, an Italian paper¹³ published in the Journal of Virology, dated May 18, 2020, detailed the isolation and full-length genome of the virus taken from COVID-19 patients in Italy:

SARS-CoV-2 Genome Sequencing From Germany

Similarly, the complete genome sequence of the virus taken from a German woman has been published, this one in the journal Microbiology Resource Announcements, in June 2020.

Here, an oropharyngeal swab sample from a female patient who tested positive but had no symptoms at the time of the test was used to isolate the strain.¹⁵ Table 1 in the paper compares the nucleotide variants found in the sampled virus and those of a reference strain already logged in the gene bank.

Another paper¹⁶ in Annals of Internal Medicine, published in August 2020, isolated the virus from ocular (eye) secretions of an Italian COVID patient:¹⁷

The full genome sequence was obtained from either clinical sample or culture isolate (GISAID accession numbers EPI_ISL_410545 and EPI_ISL_410546).Genome Sequencing From India and Colombia

SARS-CoV-2 has also been isolated from the urine of a COVID-19 patient.¹⁸ A November 2020 paper¹⁹ sought to determine "whether various clinical specimens obtained from COVID-19 patients contain the infectious virus," and found SARS-CoV-2 RNA "in all naso/oropharyngeal swabs and saliva, urine and stool samples collected between Days 8 and 30 of the clinical course."

Viable SARS-CoV-2 was also found in the nasal washes of ferrets that had been inoculated with urine or stool from a COVID-19 patient.

The virus has also been isolated by researchers in the U.S.,²⁰ China,²¹ India,²² Canada,²³ Australia,²⁴ Korea²⁵ and Colombia.²⁶ The Colombian paper reads in part:²⁷

We determined the isolation of SARS-CoV-2 in Vero-E6 cells by the appearance of the cytopathic effect three days post-infection and confirmed it by the positive results in the qRT-PCR and the immunofluorescence with convalescent serum.

Finally, a complete genome sequence obtained by next-generation sequencing allowed classifying the isolate as B.1.5 lineage. The evidence presented in this article confirms the first isolation of SARS CoV-2 in Colombia. If Virus Exists, Why Aren't Certain Studies Done?

As mentioned earlier, the actual virus is needed in order to conduct certain studies. Now, since the virus does exist, we also ought to be able to conduct studies to assess whether the COVID shots cause antibody dependent enhancement (ADE).

As suggested by Kirsch,²⁸ "Give the vaccine to the animals, wait, then expose them to the virus" and see what happens. Does it prevent infection and transmission, or does it make the animals more prone to infection? If the animals got sicker, that would be evidence of ADE, a problem that has plagued coronavirus vaccine research for decades.

It's why we don't have a vaccine against the common cold, caused by coronaviruses. Remarkably, this animal research has never been done for the COVID shots. The question is why? Kirsch believes the answer is because "nobody wants to know the answer ... The top management of the FDA knows it would kill the vaccine program if they did this."

On the other hand, the vaccinated, just like the unvaccinated, tend to experience only mild symptoms with Omicron. So, perhaps the shots aren't causing ADE (which could turn even a milder variant into something deadly).

However, ADE is far from the only concern. Clearly, these shots are associated with a dramatically increased risk of cardiovascular, cardiac and neurological problems. These too could be confirmed through animal studies — rather than testing on our children — and we wouldn't even need the virus for those.

Either way, I believe it's scientifically accurate to claim that SARS-CoV-2 has been isolated, genetically sequenced, and that it exists as a pathogenic entity. Getting too far into the weeds of theories that refute the existence of viruses altogether will only slow down and hamper the truth movement rather than aid it along, and I would strongly discourage anyone from engaging in this highly unproductive narrative.


Comment: Absurd and unsubstantiated claims made by the "no-virus" folks taint the reputation of any well-meaning researcher who questions the validity of the official COVID narrative and wants to unearth the truth. This topic has had a polarizing influence on people within the COVID truth movement, ultimately resulting in increased division and fragmentation...

And who benefits? The technocratic elites who seek to do all that they can to discredit and squash any dissent. How convenient!?

Kudos to Dr Mercola!


References

• ^{1, 7, 8, 28} Steve Kirsch Substack January 9, 2022
• ² NPR January 24, 2020
• ³ Gen Bank SARS-CoV-2 isolate, complete genome
• ⁴ ATCC Coronavirus
• ^{5, 6} CDC Viral Culturing
• ^{9, 10} Gut Pathogens 2021; 13(7)
• ^{11, 12} Jeremy Hammond March 9, 2021
• ¹³ Journal of Virology May 18, 2020 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.00543-20
• ¹⁴ MT019532.1
• ¹⁵ Microbiology Resource Announcements June 2020; 9(23): e00520-20
• ^{16, 17} Annals of Internal Medicine August 4, 2020 DOI: 10.7326/M20-1176
• ¹⁸ Emerging Microbes & Infections December 2020; 9(1):991-993
• ¹⁹ Clinical Microbiology & Infections November 2020;26(11):1520-1524
• ²⁰ BioRxiv March 7, 2020 DOI: 10.1101/2020.03.02.972935
• ²¹ CCDC Weekly February 15, 2020 DOI: 10.46234/ccdcw2020.033
• ²² Indian Journal of Medical Research February & March 2020; 151(2 & 3):244-250
• ²³ Emerging Infectious Diseases September 2020; 26(9): 2054-2063
• ²⁴ The Medical Journal of Australia July 28, 2021
• ²⁵ Osong Public Health Research Perspectives February 2020; 11(1): 3-7
• ^{26, 27} Biomedica October 30, 2020; 40(Supl. 2):148-158