Let's get real. And be smart.

Where did the Covid-19 virus originate? We'll probably never know the truth. When Trump said it was from a Chinese lab, we all booed. But hey, isn't that the most plausible theory?

Then again, maybe we shouldn't probe too hard. What, are we going start a war with China? What, are we going to enflame further all the racism that's plaguing America?

Here's a thoughtful essay about where we might want to go with the burning question of the virus' source. Instead of making China a scapegoat, we could step up existing efforts to make biological research and bioweapons programs safer.

Another interesting tidbit from the article: The virus may not have escaped from the Wuhan lab. Wuhan employees may have been infected out in the field, when they were collecting specimens.

In many cases, infections attributed to biocontainment laboratory activities actually occurred outside the lab, often during field collection of viral samples. Squirming, clawed and toothy animals bite and scratch during collection of body fluids. Teeth and talons easily penetrate the thin gloves required to maintain dexterity when handling fragile wildlife. And overhead, angry bats release a fine patina of virus-laden urine aerosols. As part of CTR field surveillance programs, I have collected viruses from Asian bats carrying coronaviruses, and from birds infected with bird flu, and can attest that the margins for personal protection during these expeditions are razor thin. The fact that researchers are not infected every time they do a field collection is a question that continues to stump us.

As a person who doesn't believe for a minute that this plague came out of a meat market, I found the article pretty enlightening.