(that is how I read your "...though that does not necessarily mean that it escaped from a lab, or even that it was “engineered” or the product of “gain of function” research." from this post.)
It's a fine line. Because people jump to two conclusions about the coof being a bioweapon.
1) The perfection argument -- this was also used to try to argue against it being engineered ("look! molecular modeling shows the spike protein isn't the tightest possible binding configuration to the human receptors! It *can't* have been manmande"). This argument goes, "If it were a bioweapon, it would have killed tens of millions in the US, or more. Since it didn't it must be natural!"
That's not necessarily true; people jump to that conclusion from watching too many James Bond movies. US policy has been for a long time, to consider that type of thing a "weapon of mass destruction" and to respond with nukes.
But a lower-level virus that just gums up our economy and makes politicians chase their tails -- and allows mail-in ballots and voter fraud -- that's not so clear-cut.
2) If it's a bioweapon, it must have been intended to be released in this form.
That doesn't necessarily follow. It might be the Chinese were still investigating, and the famous Chinese quality control happened, and a less-lethal, early version still being played with, got loose.
The reason it's so important to the survival of the country is this.
Our government, (remember the $1.5 billion deal with Hunter Biden before the election, solely because of "who he knew"?; remember DiFi's driver being a Chicom spy; remember Eric Shartswell on the House Intelligence Committee doing the BangBang with Fang Fang), and our Universities, and many businesses, are infested with Chicom spies.
China likely has visibility to US responses while we're still developing the response.
As far as my posting history, you pointedly didn't look for scientific links, even though that's what you originally said you wanted, and what I invited you to look for.