(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Why I deleted my lab leak diary. [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']
Date: 2023-03-07
Last week I posted a diary, Zombie "Lab Leak" Theory Emerges from the Depths. Again. Here's How to Send it Back. I’ve deleted it based on comments to the diary and further reading.
Why?
Based on the work of virologists such as Dr.Angela Rasmussen “t he available evidence shows overwhelmingly that the pandemic started at Huanan market via zoonosis,”
But the Lab Leak Theory has neither been proven or disproven, so it’s not accurate to call it a “Zombie” theory.
Although the DOE Report concludes with “low confidence” that a lab leak caused the Pandemic, public disclosure of the DOE Report does not state the evidence behind this conclusion, and four other agencies have reached the opposite conclusion.
Here is how Dr. Rasmussen puts it. (I recommend reading all her recent threads.)
x First of all, I have no idea what this evidence that DOE has is. All I know that it is "weak" and resulted in a conclusion of "low confidence". It reportedly comes from the DOE's own network of national labs rather than through spying. pic.twitter.com/dQAH7DuCMF — Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) February 26, 2023
This is a highly fraught issue for many reasons, among them:
Safety of the labs and the markets is of paramount concern.
But labs are also essential to preventing, treating and developing vaccines for potential future pandemics.
Like so many other things, the “lab leak” theory has become shorthand for “Fauci lied.” “Trump was right!”
Lost in the fog is Trump’s culpability whether it was a lab leak or not. His recklessness cost hundreds of thousands of lives, according to Deborah Birx. And a House Committee reported that Trump interfered with CDC officials, including by denying requests to hold briefings about mask guidance and pediatric Covid-19 cases and deaths. Under the right’s twisted logic, the lab leak shifts blame.
Again, Dr. Rasmiusen:
x But we cannot afford to do this at the expense of addressing the much greater threat of natural spillover. And virology research is crucial to those efforts. We can’t develop countermeasures for pathogens we know nothing about. Virology research is essential risk mitigation. — Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) March 6, 2023
This diary brought to you by harness the power of young voters. Please support these groups:
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/7/2156556/-Why-I-deleted-my-lab-leak-diary
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
