Here’s an indisputable fact about the theory that COVID originated in a laboratory: Most Americans believe it to be true.

That’s important for several reasons. One is that evidence to support the theory is nonexistent. Another is that the claim itself has fomented a surge of attacks on science and scientists that threatens to drive promising researchers out of the crucial field of pandemic epidemiology.

That concern was aired in a commentary by 41 biologists, immunologists, virologists and physicians published Aug. 1 in the Journal of Virology. The journal probably isn’t in the libraries of ordinary readers, but the article’s prose is commendably clear and its conclusions eye-opening.

Source: Hiltzik: The real dangers of the controversy over COVID’s origin – Los Angeles Times