The joint study investigating the zoonotic origins of COVID-19 was not empowered to examine the lab incident origin hypothesis, despite the US government proposing three experts, including those with a lot of background investigating lab incidents. The investigation team included Peter Dasek, who had an established funding relationship with the Wuhan Institute of Virology and had previously collaborated with Shih-Jang Lee on a letter suggesting the virus originated naturally.
The US government officials allegedly discredited the lab-leak theory to suppress the information in its early stages, calling it a conspiracy theory and pushing the narrative of the virus originating from animals.
The likelihood of COVID-19 originating from a lab in Wuhan is well above 95%, given that the lab was involved with research on viruses that look like SARS-CoV-2. However, it is still uncertain if the virus was modified or brought in from the outside.
Some claim that the virus originated from a wet market in Wuhan, while others believe it may have come from a nearby biosafety level four laboratory that researches human infectious diseases. However, epidemiologists have found that several of the original cases did not have any contact with the market.
Alina Chan discusses the lack of comprehensive international investigation into the origins of the pandemic, and the likelihood of it originating from a lab incident.
The origins of the COVID-19 virus are still unclear, and it is possible that the Wuhan market could have been the origin, or one of the two branches of the virus that emerged early on. Developing vaccines that come to market faster and have more variable efficaciousness is crucial for addressing future emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 and engineered bugs.