{"id":557566,"date":"2023-02-28T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/five-takeaways-from-the-big-covid-19-lab-leak-story\/"},"modified":"2023-02-28T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T11:00:00","slug":"five-takeaways-from-the-big-covid-19-lab-leak-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/five-takeaways-from-the-big-covid-19-lab-leak-story\/","title":{"rendered":"#Five takeaways from the big COVID-19 \u2018lab leak\u2019 story"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a367f8f9b82c\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a367f8f9b82c\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/five-takeaways-from-the-big-covid-19-lab-leak-story\/#Five_takeaways_from_the_big_COVID-19_%E2%80%98lab_leak_story\" >Five takeaways from the big COVID-19 \u2018lab leak\u2019 story<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/five-takeaways-from-the-big-covid-19-lab-leak-story\/#Republicans_take_vindication_from_shift\" >Republicans take vindication from shift<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/five-takeaways-from-the-big-covid-19-lab-leak-story\/#A_lot_of_uncertainty_remains\" >A lot of uncertainty remains<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/five-takeaways-from-the-big-covid-19-lab-leak-story\/#Highly_doubtful_that_the_truth_will_ever_be_known\" >Highly doubtful that the truth will ever be known<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/five-takeaways-from-the-big-covid-19-lab-leak-story\/#More_tension_in_US-China_relations\" >More tension in U.S.-China relations<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/five-takeaways-from-the-big-covid-19-lab-leak-story\/#A_fueling_of_distrust\" >A fueling of distrust<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Five_takeaways_from_the_big_COVID-19_%E2%80%98lab_leak_story\"><\/span>Five takeaways from the big COVID-19 \u2018lab leak\u2019 story<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/1600px-covid-stock.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The tangled story of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a new twist.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the Department of Energy had shifted its position, now holding that the most likely source of the virus was a laboratory mishap, presumably in Wuhan, China \u2014 the so-called \u201clab leak theory.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The department reportedly only has \u201clow confidence\u201d in the finding.<\/p>\n<p>But the new position is still a major development, especially on a topic so politically loaded as the origins of the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the major takeaways from the new revelation.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Republicans_take_vindication_from_shift\"><\/span><strong>Republicans take vindication from shift<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Responses to COVID have cleaved along partisan lines since the early days of the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Many liberals and left-of-center commentators were initially dismissive of the lab leak theory.<\/p>\n<p>As the ground has shifted, some have sought to explain that earlier position.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>MSNBC anchor Mehdi Hasan tweeted Tuesday that the original resistance to the theory was \u201cbecause it was originally conflated by the right with \u2018Chinese bio weapon\u2019 conspiracies and continues to be conflated by the right with anti-Fauci conspiracies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No U.S. intelligence agency believes that COVID was designed as a weapon by the Chinese.<\/p>\n<p>But a number of Republicans have claimed vindication from the new reports.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) tweeted that the U.S. government had only belatedly \u201ccaught up to what Real America knew all along.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), one of the first prominent proponents of the lab leak theory, sought to take the high ground, tweeting \u201cbeing proven right doesn\u2019t matter. What matters is holding the Chinese Community Party accountable so this doesn\u2019t\u2019 h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>en again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An email to reporters from the Republican National Committee asserted that the new position from the Department of Energy \u201crepresents a significant about-face for Democrats, who routinely characterized any blame of China as \u2018racist\u2019 and \u2018xenophobic.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has repeatedly clashed with Dr. Anthony Fauci during the pandemic, called on the Biden administration to declassify the documents that led the Energy Department to its latest conclusion.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_lot_of_uncertainty_remains\"><\/span><strong>A lot of uncertainty remains<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Energy Department was not the first government agency to favor the lab leak theory. It now joins the FBI, which has backed that thesis, with moderate confidence, since 2021.<\/p>\n<p>But there is considerable division within the U.S. intelligence community \u2014 which officially comprises almost 20 different agencies\u2014 over the matter.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Four other agencies, according to the Journal\u2019s reporting, continue to assert that the most likely genesis of COVID-19 was natural \u2014 that is, that the virus first arose in animals and later made the jump to humans.<\/p>\n<p>The position of other intelligence agencies on the matter remains either unknown or undecided. According to the Journal\u2019s Sunday report, the CIA is among those that are undecided.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Highly_doubtful_that_the_truth_will_ever_be_known\"><\/span><strong>Highly doubtful that the truth will ever be known<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It is very possible that no definitive truth of how COVID began will ever be established.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>It is now over three years since the first reports of sickness began to emerge from Wuhan.<\/p>\n<p>More pertinently, the Chinese authorities have proven highly resistant to outside inquiries.<\/p>\n<p>That has led to some intriguing threads that are left hanging.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>For example, were three laboratory workers who had to be hospitalized in Wuhan in late 2019 suffering from some of the first cases of COVID infection \u2014 or from a seasonal flu?<\/p>\n<p>Is there any credibility left for a World Health Organization report issued in March 2021 \u2014 under significant Chinese influence and pressure \u2014 that asserted the lab leak theory was \u201chighly unlikely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union\u201d Sunday that there was \u201cnot a definitive answer\u201d as yet on the origins of the virus.<\/p>\n<p>Sullivan said that President Biden had \u201cdirected repeatedly every element of our intelligence community to put effort and resources behind getting to the bottom of this question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But that goal seems almost as elusive as ever.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"More_tension_in_US-China_relations\"><\/span><strong>More tension in U.S.-China relations<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Relations between Washington and Beijing have been at a low ebb in the wake of the discovery \u2014 and subsequent shooting down \u2014 of a Chinese spy balloon earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p>Everything from the plight of Taiwan to privacy concerns around TikTok, the Chinese-owned <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a> app, have further strained that relationship.<\/p>\n<p>The new COVID development has introduced a new wrinkle.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry has accused the United States of \u201cdefaming\u201d China with the new shift.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The spokesperson, Mao Ning, also insisted that COVID\u2019s origins were \u201ca scientific issue [that] should not be politicized.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Washington, however, the latest turn in the COVID story will add to suspicion of Beijing.<\/p>\n<p>House Republicans created a new committee on the threat from China when they officially took the majority in January. The COVID <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> will give that panel fresh impetus.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_fueling_of_distrust\"><\/span><strong>A fueling of distrust<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Skepticism of official accounts around COVID and outright conspiracy theories have been intermingled almost since the pandemic began.<\/p>\n<p>The skeptics will emphasize how the lab leak theory was once marginalized and derided \u2014 only to gain credence over time. They will also note, as TV host Jon Stewart did in 2021, that the conventional wisdom once seemed to overrun common sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>During an appearance on CBS\u2019s \u201cLate Show\u201d with Stephen Colbert in June 2021, Stewart drew a comparison between the situation in Wuhan \u2014 which has several key labs, including the Wuhan Institute of Virology \u2014 to an American city synonymous with chocolate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Oh, my God, there\u2019s been an outbreak of chocolaty goodness near Hershey, Pa. What do you think happened?\u2019\u201d Stewart said. \u201cLike, \u2018Oh I don\u2019t know, maybe a steam shovel mated with a cocoa bean?\u2019 Or it\u2019s the [expletive] chocolate factory! Maybe that\u2019s it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, the new twist is also sure to fuel theories that are, indeed, unsupported.<\/p>\n<p>Many of those theories are unhinged, but still draw levels of support that are far from negligible.<\/p>\n<p>As early as October 2020, a poll from an anti-extremism group found that almost 20 percent of American adults believed \u2014 falsely \u2014 that \u201cCOVID-19 has been intentionally released as part of a \u2018depopulation\u2019 plan orchestrated by the UN or New World Order.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/3876381-five-takeaways-from-the-big-covid-19-lab-leak-story\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Five takeaways from the big COVID-19 \u2018lab leak\u2019 story The tangled story of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a new twist. On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the Department of Energy had shifted its position, now holding that the most likely source of the virus was a laboratory mishap, presumably&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":557567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/1600px-covid-stock.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,30889,117,134343,4973,134353,1356,87210,134661,90482,135638,89113,87647,4949],"class_list":["post-557566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-biden","tag-business","tag-campaign","tag-china","tag-court-battles","tag-covid-19","tag-department-of-energy","tag-energy-environment","tag-house","tag-jake-sullivan","tag-jim-jordan","tag-rand-paul","tag-tom-cotton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}