Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19 by Alina Chan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a really interesting book. Ridley and Chan dive into as much available evidence as they can to try to get to the bottom of the origins of COVID-19. In the end, they don't get an answer. But they present and evaluate the case for the two main theories: natural spillover from animals and a lab-related accident or escape. I am not sure it really matters which turns out to be true, though I think it is important to do the research and find out. There are three main walk away conclusions for me.
(1) The Chinese government actively worked to conceal and cover up almost everything related to COVID-19 and from the get go. This does make them look guilty, but it also is just the way the CCP seems to operate with everything. In any case, it is just more evidence to be wary of the CCP and authoritarian regimes.
(2) No matter if it was natural spillover or a lab leak, we need to do much more in terms of biosecurity. Maybe COVID-19 came from the wild, but the probability of a virus getting out of research labs is dangerously too high. The research is important, but the levels of biosecurity need to be improved.
(3) The politicization of COVID that lead to the quick dismissal of the possibility of lab-leak hypothesis was dangerous--and continues to be. Politics and science is a dangerous mix that undermines free society and good science.
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