A new AP investigation describes how political fights quickly trampled scientific efforts to identify the origins of COVID-19.
The investigation drew on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews that showed the freeze began far earlier than previously known and involved political and scientific infighting in China as much as international finger-pointing.
This investigation puts the attention where it belongs -- on actions from government officials in Wuhan and around China, rather than obsessing over scientists in America, Australia, and Europe who were trying to make sense of information trickling out of China.
It illustrates the horrible political situation that occurred when both China and the USA were led by politicians who freely leveled accusations at anyone who inconvenienced them (regardless of the truth of the accusation) and relied on bigotry and conspiracy theories as political strategies. Combine that with China’s extensive infrastructure for suppressing information, plus the total lockdown of Wuhan, and it’s a wonder that we’ve been able to learn anything at all about the early spread of COVID-19 or about similar viruses in wild animals in China.
Edit: The fact that the Chinese government is suppressing information about the origins of COVID-19 should not be taken as evidence for one hypothesis or another. The suppression of information is not limited to any particular possible origin. Specifically, there are incidents where the Chinese government suppressed information that would have drawn attention to the wildlife market, and other information that would not be relevant to either the wildlife market or research-based hypotheses. Meanwhile, they’ve let other information be published that limits the possible paths that could have moved SARS-CoV-2 into the wildlife market. I think this just shows a reflexive secretiveness and insistence on controlling the flow of information, regardless of what exactly that information would reveal.