[xupybd]

>Thirdly, this paper emphasizes the strong impact of the COVID pandemic and asserts that understanding the origins of the virus would necessarily aid in preventing future pandemics. This does not clearly follow. Especially if the virus had natural selection origins there is no clear and obvious way of systematically reducing risk. Simply living or traveling where host populations like bats live could be enough to generate exposures and it is not simple to clear people off of rural habitations.

Exterminating all the bats is an option. It would be our first purposeful extinction and would no doubt cause many problems. We need to at least weigh up the possibility. Then we can run the risk benefit analysis.

[landemva]

> first purposeful extinction

Smallpox? And extinction of Guinea worm is in process.

[xupybd]

Fair point

[emsign]

People could just try and stop eating them first instead, that's my humble idea.