Why do people believe Covid was made in a lab?

[Disabrie22]

I saw this on another thread about someone having a cold - where does this theory come from? I only know one person who believes this, who interestingly is in medicine. I have no strong opinion, just trying to live through this like most people. But I’m interested in why people might believe this.

I think in some cases, part of the reluctance to consider the lab theory is fear of appearing racist towards Chinese people.

@DecayedStrumpet

Yes I'm in medical resarch area and i wouldn't rule out the possibility it leaked from a lab, it has an unusual combination of features... i wouldn't say i BELIEVE believe in it but people fuck up in all lines of work.

"Nice work on the furin cleavage site Bob, really interesting stuff. Nasty cough you've got there though. Why don't you take the day off and go down the seafood market?"

Fellow scientist and it's exactly this. Just takes one absent minded scratch of the nose mid-procedure, few days of with a 'cold' where you pop to the shops for some food.and boom. You are literally patient zero.

I don't necessarily believe it leaked, but it's just as likely as a natural mutation/zoonoses.

There a reason at my old lab I wouldn't open unexpected parcels with return address for porten down.

[quote LawnFever]@knittingaddict I do honestly appreciate what you’re saying, but it’s a personal fact that that is the only thing I can compare the feeling to, it’s just stating my own opinion, not ‘my nans next door neighbours cat said they felt like this’

I’m 43 years old and no other virus or bug has ever given me that feeling, it’s valid because it’s true, if you don’t want to believe me that’s fine but it doesn’t invalidate it being true for me.[/quote]
It's true that you felt that way, but it's not true in fact. It literally can't be because chemicals/drugs aren't used to transmit this virus. It is a virus, whether man made or not.

Jon Stewart's interview on this was great -

As others have said it originated in Wuhan that has a lab that coincidentally studies coronaviruses, oh and the fact the Chinese government wouldn't allow the who to investigate it.

I think the virus came from the Wuhan lab but I think it is more likely it was a accidental leak rather than deliberate release (as a pp has said, why would it be released in China?) The Chinese authorities have made it seem far more suspicious by their constant cover ups and denials.

There's a new book out about this isn't there, I think I saw it reviewed in the Times?

Because there is a lab in Wuhan which was doing gain of function experiments on bat coronaviri.

Here's a CNN inverview which sheds some light..

It's because imagining it coming from a lab is less scary. If it's man made or even just a normal virus that escaped the lab, we can stop it happening again by banning some types of research, closing the lab that leaked it and making sure the scientists there are not allowed to work in the field any more and so on.

If it came from nature, it could happen again at any time and there's nothing anyone can do.

Said to me today he had been eating a ham sandwich and the change in taste made him think he was eating human flesh
And did you ask him how he knew what that tastes like, OldPodge?

Also to note that it was Dr. Fauci's organisation the National Institute of Health which funded the experiments, conducted by Eco Health Alliance in the Wuhan Lab.

And coincidentally, it was Peter Daszak, head of Eco Health Alliance who was in charge of the team who were sent to Wuhan by the WHO to investigate Covid origins.

People think we're crazy because it sounds crazy. It IS crazy. But it's also true.

We should be asking why mainstream media aren't covering this as they should.

Because Wuhan has a lab that studies Coronaviruses. And it's happened before alot actually en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laboratory_biosecurity_incidents

I think there's every chance it escaped from a lab.
I think IF it was maliciously released then it wouldn't have been by the Chinese but by America but that's not an accusation.

@knittingaddict that's my experience of how it felt. It's not nonsense just because you don't understand tit.

*it not tit

The USA have had several lab leaks too, but they’re kept hush hush until someone blabs. They still have the plague. But of course, Asia is “evil.”

Well that’s ruined ham for me 🤢

I find it interesting that some people are saying on this thread that it felt like something artificial when they had it. A friend of mine has recently got over a rough time with cv and she said the symptoms were like nothing else she had ever experienced, She used the word ‘synthetic’. I must admit, I didn’t really know what she meant, just interested to see some people echoing it on here!

How can this be the first time you have heard of this OP? Do you never read the news?

Skripal attacks happened in the town nearest to the only UK lab that keeps NoviChok supplies. As long as you think "big coincidence" is proof enough -- that proves the Russians didn't attack Skripals but rather there was an accidental leak from Porton Down and it just happened some random Russian-born local residents were the ones who got exposed to NoviChok.

Must be true, As long as "big coincidence" is your level of proof...

fwiw, I know people with PhDs in microbiology -- they suspect there was an accidental leak from Wuhan lab. That the lab was working on some methods to neutralise this virus (or develop vaccine against it, etc). That result would be very high impact scientific research but not legal to undertake in most western countries, yes legal to do in China. I reckon my acquaintences are biased just because they greatly dislike Chinese govt so they want to assume dishonesty and deception must be central part of the story.

I never know why it matters to ordinary people like me whether the virus escaped from that lab.

I never know why it matters to ordinary people like me whether the virus escaped from that lab

Why wouldn't you be interested in finding out the truth of something? I don't get that.

@HunkyPunk

I find it interesting that some people are saying on this thread that it felt like something artificial when they had it. A friend of mine has recently got over a rough time with cv and she said the symptoms were like nothing else she had ever experienced, She used the word ‘synthetic’. I must admit, I didn’t really know what she meant, just interested to see some people echoing it on here!

Synthetic is how it felt. Artificial. Not like anything I'd ever felt before, and I've had tons of viruses and a couple of nasty more prolonged illnesses in my 45 years. Nothing about it felt organic. I tried explaining it to a family member who wasn't really sure what I meant until they caught it and I received a text saying oh.. I see what you mean now!

Clearly there's something about it that makes some of us experience it that way.

@doublemonkey Yes, the people who are experts in corona viruses now are experts because they have worked with research into corona viruses for years. That’s just how expertise develops. Would you feel more comfortable if the people giving the advice had no background in coronaviruses?

It’s like saying that it’s suspicious that someone leading a cancer unit has been working with cancer-related research for decades. Do you think that people trying to cure cancer are secretly trying to keep it going cos it’s a money earner?

never know why it matters to ordinary people like me whether the virus escaped from that lab

Errr, because its impacted pretty much every person, country and economy in the world.

If it is a lab leak, accountability needs to be had and every other lab needs to learn the lessons of Covid19.

I don't think anyone is claiming that coincidence is the standard of proof, more that it makes for a plausible theory in the absence of other evidence. There is lots of other evidence in the Skripal's case which was kind of embarrassing for the Russian government because they didn't manage to hide the trail at all!

The issue is important because there are a lot of vested interests involved- the Nature Feb 2020 article declared to the world that Covid-19 was natural in origin and that anything else was 'conspiracy' and was signed by a large number of scientists- it turned out they were pressured to do so, and led by someone with a finger in the pie at the Institute of Virology.

Preventing a similar event is important- even if you concluded it was through zoonotic transmission from a wet market, that highlights the dangers of wet markets. Of course it is important to know where a disease that killed nearly 10 million people in a short space of time came from...

Usually when there is a virus that leaps from animals to humans there is plenty of evidence of it or similar viruses being transmitted animal to animal.

With Covid-19 there is not yet any evidence of this having happened. Until such evidence is found the idea that it was designed in a lab is a viable option, indeed every day that goes by without the evidence of it being a natural development makes it more likely it was manmade.

China's attempt to cover it up and their ongoing refusal to cooperate with international investigators don't do anything to dissuade people from thinking it accidentally leaked from their lab. Note too that the Wuhan lab had had repeated leaks and incidents of bad practice over the past few years.

On the balance of probabilities it is likely it was an accidental leak, and until it is independently proved otherwise it certainly has to be considered as a leading contender.

To be honest it's one of the more plausible conspiracy theories, at least there's some circumstantial evidence to support it.

I don't believe it, but I also wouldn't be completely shocked to find it was accidentally released from a lab.