We actually aren't significantly closer to knowing the origin of the coronavirus than we were a few days ago. But any indication that it leaked from a lab is an opportunity that will be used to hyperbolically cast officials and the media as wrong.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/27/china-covid-wuhan-lab-energy-department/?itid=ap_philipbump
@pbump will knowing the origin change any aspects of treatment, or would have saved any lives in the past, present, or future?
I suspect that answer is "no," to which I respond I really don't give a rat's ass where it came from.
@Esther2007 @pbump , knowing it was once in a lab doesn't help understand origins, treatment, or anything. It's about as relevant as knowing if your Amazon package was delivered in a Ford or Chevy van.
@JonKramer @pbump But what if there was a safety protocol - either in a market or in a lab - that could be improved to lessen the chances of another pandemic? Don't scientists always want to know how diseases originate?
@Esther2007 @pbump , the virus is literally in thousands of labs right now. In most nations around the world. This fact doesn't determine where the virus originated, determine effective treatment, or any other bit of useful information. Refer to my "Ford vs Chevy" comment.
@JonKramer @pbump So how do we prevent the next pandemic?
@Esther2007 @pbump , no clue, but debate and focus on what buildings the virus was once in will not be part of any solution.
@JonKramer @pbump I think knowing how it originated could be helpful in preventing the next pandemic. We might learn something useful.