Controversy over the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19—a natural zoonosis vs. a lab leak—has escalated to high-level acrimony and even threatened violence, writes Jane Orient, M.D., in the spring issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.
One reason for the intense partisan divide in the dispute may be the disparate impact of draconian control measures on right-leaning groups such as small businesses compared with left-leaning professional managers, she explained. To those who suffered severe economic losses, it is a personal and emotional issue.
Public interest in the origin has waxed and waned, but recent publication of bold assertions about a laboratory origin, and popular videocasts of analyses by groups such as U.S Right to Know (USRTK) have brought the issue to the fore. Also, in January 2024 the origin theories were discussed during hearings before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, the article notes. The blogosphere, social media, and mainstream scientific publications are battlegrounds.
The editorial does not advocate for any side. It makes the point that advocates need to emerge from their echo chambers:
“Imagine that in a court case your attorney reassures you that he has irrevocable ‘smoking gun evidence’ backing your position while your opponents have absolutely nothing to show. Trusting your advocate, you do not question him. Then imagine…learning that the opposing side has a persuasive (even if incorrect) rebuttal to every single one of the ‘smoking guns.’ Moreover, they have plenty of evidence contradicting your claims, and your attorney is unable to counter it. The outcome is that you lose.”
The editorial outlines possible scenarios and notes the “negative evidence” concerning the zoonotic hypothesis: the remarkable failure of the mighty, well-equipped, and well-funded mainstream academia to provide evidence of the original animal-to-human infection event.
Dr. Orient concludes that outside one’s partisan information bubble, the debate on the origin of COVID appears to be a stalemate, with complexities forming an informational Gordian knot, which is blocking urgently needed action on solvable problems.
The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons is published by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943.
Read full article: https://jpands.org/vol29no1/orient.pdf
