The original gain of function concerns, about a decade old.

Scientists in WI, Japan and Netherlands had determined candidate mutations that could perhaps make common flu capable of terrifying high mortality of some avian flus...

And some years back, some of these same scientists had shown how we can easily make any flu virus we wanted to, in the lab. All the technology was there. Should NIH allow them to make a virus that, if released, is highly transmissible and lethal at once?...

This was a fierce debate at NIH and in science at large. It is more complicated than I just stated because of the claimed high-level containment of labs in Madison and Netherlands. Also lurking in background is existence of flu vaccines that at least sorta work...

NIH, which funded both groups involved, held a several-year moratorium as we pondered these questions, but ultimately released the projects...

But in many ways the question is not resolved. Our background is that lab accidents are not at all unheard of, containment can be breached, but OTOH, we deserve to know exactly how viruses cause disease and what features we must dread to encounter...

We don't know how many super-high containment labs, with their ever present risk of pandemic contagion, is too much worldwide.
If there are incompetent or careless actors, few means exist for those from without to control.
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