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Maybe Trump was right about COVID origins

Former president Donald Trump always took great pains when talking about COVID-19 to call it the “Chinese flu.” He claimed he had intelligence reports that said the virus had been developed in a Wuhan, China clinic, that it escaped, and that the Chinese government ignored its existence until it was too late. Many saw that as an attempt by Trump to draw attention away from his own adminstration’s flawed response to the virus, or just another falsehood from the Dissembler-in-Chief.

But this week it looks like he may have been right. President Joe Biden is ordering U.S. intelligence services to investigate the origins of the coronavirus, and joining with other nations to press China to open up about how the virus came about and to cooperate with international investigations.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who a year ago said scientists believed COVID has been transmitted from an animal, most likely an infected bat, now says scientists aren’t 100% sure. No one really can say with certainty where it came from, unless of course some Chinese bureaucrats are sitting on the information.

It is, of course, important to know how this virus came to be, so we can learn what we can about preventing future outbreaks and finding a cure for this one. China could be considered liable for damages, if it did indeed cover up the outbreak and obstruct efforts to contain it.

But let’s not forget, the virus is here. Whether or not we can figure out how it came about, what’s important is how do we combat it and contain it. We are making progress on that front, and getting people vaccinated is the most important job at the moment.

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