COVID revisited

Bernard

We may never get to the bottom of it. It seems too much a coincidence to me that my cousin ended up in hospital in December of 2019 with respiratory problems. His illness, whatever it was--the doctors didn't know--progressed rapidly. He was told he'd be on a respirator for the rest off his life. He was 72ish. He died in January 2020--a month after symptoms appeared. I have never spoken to his wife about it, but the last time I saw her was at his funeral.

Then there are the December 2019 case(s) that appeared in Italy. Even though the official story is that the first US case was documented on Jan. 20, 2020, it seems to me that the virus was making it's way around the world before then. And it seems likely to me that's what my cousin died of.

jon-nyc

That’s sad. I too lost a cousin though well into the pandemic. My sister’s best friend died of “flu” in January 2020. Almost certainly it was Covid.

Rontuner

My son and now daughter in law were the sickest they've ever been around Xmas 2019. She was working front desk at a downtown Chicago hotel and I'd bet there were cases going around here long before that first documented case.

AndyD

We just rolled out eyes at the non-takers and no-maskers, for whatever reason they gave, and muttered quietly "Darwinism in action".
Guess that we are far more trusting of our NHS.

Little doubt that it came from a Wuhan laboratory is there?
Our first known case in November 2019:

jon-nyc

My understanding is the technical virological evidence on either explanation is circumstantial.

The human evidence is more damning though and points to a lab leak. Like when the lab permanently took their virus database offline in the fall of 2019.

As one wag put it, "Why would bat-virus scientists working at a bat-virus lab hide bat-virus data during a local bat-virus outbreak?"

AndyD

No cross over animal from bat to human has been found.
Is it just a massive coincidence the market at the hub of the pandemic is so close to the Wuhan Institue of Virolgy?

CIA and FBI both say it was laboratory sourced.
Yet:
https://theconversation.com/the-covid-lab-leak-theory-is-dead-heres-how-we-know-the-virus-came-from-a-wuhan-market-188163

wtg

@AndyD said:

CIA and FBI both say it was laboratory sourced.

Not arguing that it didn't come from the lab, but when did the CIA and FBI determine that? The Conversation article you linked is from 2022. Just wondering if it's an apples to apples comparison....

jon-nyc

@andyd

I agree with you that it’s the most likely scenario. I’m just saying there is still no proof either way. At least until the CCP makes it available.

Rontuner

Neither CIA or FBI could be politically motivated, right???

jon-nyc

@Rontuner said:

Neither CIA or FBI could be politically motivated, right???

Certainly less so than the NIH.

FWIW, it was Biden's FBI and CIA.

AndyD

I reckon we'll never see conclusive evidence. It'll remain a conveniently ambiguous historical mystery.

I'll try to find the newspaper article that persuaded me it was a laboratory leak.

WTF-Beta

COVID revisited