[zzt123]

"For example, we know that the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 leaked out of a lab in Taiwan in late 2021." - is exactly (mechanically) true in that Delta did leak out of a lab in Taiwan in late 2021.

This statement does not declare that Delta’s origins were a lab leak, since late 2021 is a year after Delta was first detected in late 2020. Can’t have your origins in the future until time travel is invented.

Seems therefore more proper to interpret the statement exactly as written rather than add additional conspiratorial inferences.

[kreetx]

Perhaps the audience for that blog isn't the regular hn reader because I read it the same way as d23. I get that an origin leak can't come after delta was already spreading but most of us aren't drawing a timeline on the side while reading either.

[tshaddox]

It’s also abundantly clear if you’re reading the whole article from the start, because the whole article is claiming Omicron is the second virus to originate from a lab, after the original strain.

[flush]

FWIW, I read it incorrectly the first time too and had to do a double-take. I do think it's not written in the clearest manner.

[dljones]

Yes, s/he clarified it. "[Edited, 5 Jan 2021, to add: Many people have been confused about the statement about delta, so I must have worded it poorly. I’m not saying delta originated in a lab leak. I’m saying delta escaped from a lab late in 2021 where it was being used in research. It’s an example of a research-related lab leak.]"

[mike00632]

Can you explain the Delta variant lab leak theory for those of us who aren't caught up on conspiracy theories?

[zzt123]

I don’t know the details of the Delta conspiracy theory, but the evolution of Delta looks abundantly natural, so whatever that theory is, seems unlikely.