Is the debate over the origin of Covid-19 still worth having?

The ongoing rhetoric from Republican politicians about the origin of Covid-19 accomplishes nothing other than further polarizing U.S. society. The available public records show that the work done at the Wuhan Institute of Virology using U.S. government funds could not have created SARS-CoV-2, The most recent lab-leak related controversy has centered on grant-related paperwork violations. The scientific community has also been riven by unpleasant disputes. Allegations have been made that lab-leak opponents must have conflicts of interest, however nebulous. One positive outcome is that lab-leak theory has refocused the world’s virologists on an important scientific topic: gain-of-function research.