[pdonis]

> Direct experimentation is very useful because it allows systematic comparison to establish cause & effect

Only if "experimentation" includes "infecting humans with various strains and seeing what happens". Is that what you're advocating?

> Collecting and studying wild viruses means that dangerous new strains will be present in labs regardless

Dangerous new strains that happened to evolve naturally is one thing.

Dangerous new strains that are purposely being created by experimenters for the express purpose of finding ones that are more infective is another.

> so either way stringent safety controls, monitoring, and containment plans are absolutely necessary.

This would appear to be an argument for not doing this type of research in the Wuhan lab, which evidently did not have sufficient controls in place. Moreover, I see no indication that any assessment of such controls at the lab, and confirmation that they were sufficient, was a prerequisite for funding this research. That seems insane.