The author of an NY times article is on record thusly:

In 2021, the same Alina Chan who penned the NYT op-ed said the following:

“I have days where I think this could be natural. And if it’s natural, then I’ve done a terrible thing because I’ve put a lot of scientists in a very dangerous spot by saying that they could be the source of an accident that resulted in millions of people dying. I would feel terrible if it’s natural and I did all this.”