Redfield (starting at 47m20s): "I am a virologist by training and practice. Prior to my time at the CDC, I spent more than 20 years as a U.S. Army physician and medical researcher at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research where I served as the Chief of the Department of Retroviral Research and worked in virology, immunology, and clinical research at the forefront of the AIDS epidemic and other viral threats...
From the earliest days of the pandemic, my view was that both theories [zoonotic or lab-development] about the origin of COVID-19 needed to be aggressively and thoroughly examined. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Based on my initial analysis of the data, I came to believe then—and still believe today—that available data indicates COVID-19 infections was the direct result of biomedical research and a subsequent, accidental lab leak. Unfortunately, the potential National Security consequences of conducting this research did not receive full consideration prior to the decision to fund and conduct this high-risk research...
Senator Ron Johnson (starting at 1h19m50s): "It [lipid nanoparticles in Covid vaccines] crosses the blood-brain barrier, correct?"..
Redfield: "Correct...
"I think, Senator, that what you're getting at, which I'm 100% agreeing with you, is I think there was not appropriate transparency from the beginning about the potential side-effects of these vaccines. And I do think there was inappropriate decisions by some to try to under-report any side effects, because they argued that would make the public less likely to get vaccinated.
I do think that one of the greatest mistakes made, of course, was mandating these vaccines. They should have never been mandated. It should have been open to personal choice.
They don't prevent infection, they do have side effects."