Six years ago this week, COVID began
Who would have ever envisioned such an awful thing. 🙁
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samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@Musicman and you know that as a fact? It is time to ditch the crazy conspiracy theories and prepare for the next. Start by reading the book The Great Influenza.
The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry is a detailed, non-fiction account of the 1918 influenza pandemic, often called the "Spanish Flu". The book explores the pandemic's origins in Haskell County, Kansas, its spread through World War I troop movements, and its devastating global impact, examining the intersection of politics, war, and science at the time. Barry's work is praised for its narrative quality and its relevance to modern pandemics, highlighting the state of U.S. medicine and the virus's unique ability to attack the lungs.
Key aspects of the book:
Focus: Primarily on the U.S. experience, placing the pandemic within the context of American history and medical history.
Origins: Traces the virus back to a U.S. Army training camp (Camp Funston) in Kansas.
Context: Explains how the pandemic was overshadowed by World War I, despite killing far more people than the war itself.
Scientific detail: Describes the virus's unique characteristics, such as its ability to bind to cells deep in the lungs, causing severe pneumonia.
Structure: Divided into sections covering the warriors (military), the swarm (spread), the tinderbox (conditions), and the explosion of the disease.
The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry is a detailed, non-fiction account of the 1918 influenza pandemic, often called the "Spanish Flu". The book explores the pandemic's origins in Haskell County, Kansas, its spread through World War I troop movements, and its devastating global impact, examining the intersection of politics, war, and science at the time. Barry's work is praised for its narrative quality and its relevance to modern pandemics, highlighting the state of U.S. medicine and the virus's unique ability to attack the lungs.
Key aspects of the book:
Focus: Primarily on the U.S. experience, placing the pandemic within the context of American history and medical history.
Origins: Traces the virus back to a U.S. Army training camp (Camp Funston) in Kansas.
Context: Explains how the pandemic was overshadowed by World War I, despite killing far more people than the war itself.
Scientific detail: Describes the virus's unique characteristics, such as its ability to bind to cells deep in the lungs, causing severe pneumonia.
Structure: Divided into sections covering the warriors (military), the swarm (spread), the tinderbox (conditions), and the explosion of the disease.
Musicman · 61-69, M
@samueltyler2 it's totally true and you know it. It was developed in a lab Wuhan China. Sadly man sees the need to make biological weapons. 😡😡😡
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@Musicman I give up with people like you! You prefer to spout crazy theories rather than actually listen and learn.
Musicman · 61-69, M
@samueltyler2 The government said it.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@Musicman it said that it could not be ruled out! Read this Google/AI. How do you interpret low level evidence?
As of early 2025, no official U.S. government intelligence agency has stated with certainty that COVID-19 was intentionally "man-made" or created as a biological weapon.
DNI.gov
DNI.gov
+1
However, the assessment of the virus's origins has shifted significantly, with several U.S. government entities concluding that a laboratory-associated incident in Wuhan, China, is the most likely origin.
BBC
BBC
+2
Here is a breakdown of the official positions and findings:
Lab Leak Hypothesis (Likely): In 2024 and 2025, U.S. government reports increasingly supported the theory that the virus escaped from a lab.
FBI & Energy Department: In 2023, the FBI and the Department of Energy assessed with "low" or "moderate" confidence that an accidental lab leak was the most probable cause.
CIA Assessment: In January 2025, the CIA determined that a research-related origin was "more likely" than a natural one, although they expressed "low confidence" in this finding.
House Subcommittee: A Republican-led House subcommittee concluded in December 2024 that the virus "likely emerged because of a laboratory or research related accident".
"Man-Made" vs. Lab Leak: While some agencies point to a lab incident, they generally distinguish this from being intentionally engineered. Most agencies in the intelligence community have assessed that SARS-CoV-2 was not developed as a biological weapon.
Conflicting Views: Other agencies, including the National Intelligence Council, have maintained that natural zoonotic spillover (animal-to-human) is more likely.
Official Position Evolution: Early in the pandemic, the lab leak theory was dismissed by many officials and scientists, but it has gained significant mainstream and governmental traction over time, culminating in some government, white house, and intelligence sources emphasizing it.
DNI.gov
DNI.gov
+7
In summary, the government has moved from dismissing the lab leak theory to having it as a leading, albeit unproven, explanation for the pandemic's origin, distinct from the claim that it was intentionally engineered as a weapon
As of early 2025, no official U.S. government intelligence agency has stated with certainty that COVID-19 was intentionally "man-made" or created as a biological weapon.
DNI.gov
DNI.gov
+1
However, the assessment of the virus's origins has shifted significantly, with several U.S. government entities concluding that a laboratory-associated incident in Wuhan, China, is the most likely origin.
BBC
BBC
+2
Here is a breakdown of the official positions and findings:
Lab Leak Hypothesis (Likely): In 2024 and 2025, U.S. government reports increasingly supported the theory that the virus escaped from a lab.
FBI & Energy Department: In 2023, the FBI and the Department of Energy assessed with "low" or "moderate" confidence that an accidental lab leak was the most probable cause.
CIA Assessment: In January 2025, the CIA determined that a research-related origin was "more likely" than a natural one, although they expressed "low confidence" in this finding.
House Subcommittee: A Republican-led House subcommittee concluded in December 2024 that the virus "likely emerged because of a laboratory or research related accident".
"Man-Made" vs. Lab Leak: While some agencies point to a lab incident, they generally distinguish this from being intentionally engineered. Most agencies in the intelligence community have assessed that SARS-CoV-2 was not developed as a biological weapon.
Conflicting Views: Other agencies, including the National Intelligence Council, have maintained that natural zoonotic spillover (animal-to-human) is more likely.
Official Position Evolution: Early in the pandemic, the lab leak theory was dismissed by many officials and scientists, but it has gained significant mainstream and governmental traction over time, culminating in some government, white house, and intelligence sources emphasizing it.
DNI.gov
DNI.gov
+7
In summary, the government has moved from dismissing the lab leak theory to having it as a leading, albeit unproven, explanation for the pandemic's origin, distinct from the claim that it was intentionally engineered as a weapon
Musicman · 61-69, M
@samueltyler2 Back when Trump was still in office the first time there was a video on YouTube about the doctor and the lab in China. It showed her working in the lab and receiving a medal for her Covid work in a ceremony. Both my wife and I watched it. Then amazingly after Biden took office it was removed. So between the government and the YouTube video that is always how I personally will view it. But, you should feel free to believe whatever version you like. I do know a couple of people who died from it though. They even had the vaccine. The girl even had the first booster too. Sadly both people are now gone.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@Musicman there is no question that there was research done, it is wild stretch to her research causing the pandemic.
Musicman · 61-69, M
@samueltyler2 The government said it leaked from her lab. 🤷♂ I definitely don't believe it was used as a weapon. I think the leak was accidental. If you have very washed dishes by hand sooner or later you are going to drop and break a dish. It's not intentional. It just happens. I think this is what happened. There was an accident and the virus probably got on someone's clothes and spread when they left the lab.
Musicman · 61-69, M
@samueltyler2 As you said, it wasn't ruled out. You have your opinion and I have mine. I'm not mad at you because your opinion is different than mine.
ArtieKat · M
@samueltyler2 I'm with you on this. There is no empirical evidence of where Covid started - I'm content to leave it at that.
ArtieKat · M
@samueltyler2 Yes 👍