The "vigorous open debate" only began when the initially vehement denial of the possibility of a lab leak (from many Chinese and American scientists, officials,

The "vigorous open debate" only began when the initially vehement denial of the possibility of a lab leak (from many Chinese and American scientists, officials, and press alike, e.g. Daszak's early 2020 publications) failed to convince In any case, if the hypothesis turns out correct, the important question is not "who is to blame", it's "how exactly did this happen" and "following a detailed and public risk/benefit analysis, should we allow this kind of research to continue"