Statement of the Institute of Virology on the press conference of Peter Kotlar

Statement of the Institute of Virology of the Biomedical Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, v. v. i., on the press conference of Peter Kotlar, Government Commissioner for the review of the process of governance and resource management during the pandemic COVID-19.

The Institute of Virology of the BMC SAV as a scientific institution hereby responds to the information that was presented on 2 October 2024 at the press conference of the Commissioner Peter Kotlar at the National Council of the Slovak Republic.

As scientists who have been involved in virus research for a long time, we are deeply concerned about the claims that Commissioner Kotlár presented to the public. The views presented call into question facts that have been verified and accepted by the global expert community and responsible authorities, and are misleading to the general public.

We therefore call on the political representation of this country to approach the report by plenipotentiary Peter Kotlár with extreme caution and to avoid making mistakes that would bring our country to the edge of the civilised world.

Text and photo: Institute of Virology, BMC SAS