I have long favored the lab leak hypothesis, not because of any political angle (moderate Dem here), but because the Chinese have often neglected adherence to strict safety norms in their zeal to achieve rapid technological and scientific progress. Also, when pathogens make the first jump from animals to humans, they usually cause a high degree of mortality, which actually limits their spread. This has been true for avian influenza, SARS Cov1, MERS, and Ebola, to name a few. It is quite unusual for a virus to make the jump to humans and have the “Goldilocks” characteristics of mild to moderate pathogenicity and high transmissibility. This is what allows for widespread dissemination within populations. It’s already there before you even realize it. Of course, that does not prove that it was a laboratory strain made more adaptable to humans, and animal to human transmission of a Goldilocks virus is certainly possible.

It does matter which is true, because if this was a man-made pandemic, strict measures must be taken to prevent a recurrence. Like preventing nuclear proliferation. Oh wait, that’s not working so well either.