Bill Rice Jr. is a freelance investigative journalist based in Troy, Alabama, and a Brownstone Institute fellow. He publishes a Substack newsletter where he explores all facets of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with other topics that challenge mainstream narratives.
In this interview, we discuss Bill’s SARS-CoV-2 Early Spread Hypothesis:
Bill Rice’s Early Spread Hypothesis
Bill Rice argues that SARS-CoV-2 was spreading globally, including in the U.S., months before the official Wuhan outbreak (mid-December 2019).
He has identified hundreds of early cases in multiple U.S. states (as early as November 2019), with evidence from antibody tests and influenza-like illness (ILI) reports.
He suggests that the early spread contradicts the official narrative that SARS-CoV-2 originated in Wuhan in December 2019.
Evidence for Early Spread
Antibody Tests: Individuals who were sick in late 2019 later tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in early 2020.
A CDC-Red Cross study found antibodies in 2.04% of blood donors from December 2019.
ILI Data: Reports from the CDC showed a surge in influenza-like illness (ILI) in late 2019, far exceeding historical baselines.
School Closures & Outbreaks: Unusually high school closures and military ship outbreaks suggest an undiagnosed respiratory virus was already circulating.
Possible Origins and Cover-Up
U.S. Lab Origin? Rice is open to the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 originated in a U.S. biolab, such as Fort Detrick, Maryland, which was shut down in mid-2019 due to safety violations.
Wuhan Spread Earlier? He also considers that SARS-CoV-2 could have emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology but was spreading long before December 2019.
Military Games Hypothesis: Athletes at the October 2019 Wuhan World Military Games reported symptoms later matching COVID-19, raising questions about early global transmission.
Pandemic Response Critique
Lockdowns and Vaccines Were Unnecessary: If SARS-CoV-2 was widespread and not causing excess deaths before March 2020, Rice argues that lockdowns and vaccines were based on a false premise.
Excess Mortality in April 2020: He attributes the spike in deaths to iatrogenic harm (medical mismanagement), including ventilators, remdesivir, and restricted early treatment, rather than SARS-CoV-2 itself.
Media and Government Silence
No Official Investigations: Despite antibody-positive cases, no CDC or NIH officials interviewed these early patients.
Media Suppression: Initial mainstream media reports (e.g., Seattle Times) covered early cases but later dropped the topic.
Narrative Control: Rice suggests that focusing solely on Wuhan’s wet market helped distract from the possibility of earlier spread or lab involvement.
If you’re interested in reviewing the evidence supporting his hypothesis, please check out the following articles provided by Bill Rice:
Early spread evidence in one document.
ILI or “flu” was “widespread” and “severe” in almost all 50 states in the months before official Covid.
Documentation of record number of school closings pre-“official” Covid.
Sixty percent of sailors on the USS Roosevelt tested positive for antibodies in late April 2020 - several almost-certainly had Covid in January.
If “early spread” was covered up, this is how officials concealed this news from the public.
Why Bill is convinced ‘case zero’ did not come from Wuhan Wet Market or happen in December of November 2019.
Re-assessing spread of Covid-19 by Laura Mueller and Bill Rice, Jr.
Math extrapolations that debunk the “deadly virus” narrative.
Moreover, Amendola et al found molecular evidence suggesting that a strain of SARS-CoV-2, capable of causing a measles-like syndrome, may have emerged between late June and late July 2019, with viruses carrying key B.1 strain mutations potentially spreading worldwide before the first reported outbreak in Wuhan:
Nicolas Hulscher, MPH
Epidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough Foundation
www.mcculloughfnd.org
Please consider following both the McCullough Foundation and my personal account on X (formerly Twitter) for further content.
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