Virus research

In Wuhan China there is a virology lab that performs experiments of different types of virus one of which is the coronavirus. Covid 19 is a type of coronavirus. Coronavirus in humans has been known since 1965. The experiments include something called gain of function which is a way to enhance the way the virus changes and how to make it more viral (catchy). While this was going the first case of Covid occurred in Wuhan in December of 2019 and it quickly spread until the city was quarantined. At first some thought it escaped from the lab. It’s unclear how often such lab accidents occur in China. In 2004, Chinese health authorities acknowledged that a lab accident had caused a localized outbreak of SARS, a year after the epidemic was largely controlled. This lab had a reputation of being careless. About a year after the outbreak the World Health Organization investigated and determined the virus came from a nearby meat market. China refused to participate in any further investigation. A US based non profit group EcoHealth Alliance in 2014 received a $3 million dollar grant to research bat virus at Wuhan. Part of the research included exploring whether the virus could infect people. There is no proof that the US money was used in gain of function research but there is no evidence that it wasn't.