Both could have happened in parallel. The fact that it is a lab leak vs. something else wouldn't have any effect on pandemic containment. What it did is sow incredible distrust in our institutions. It lead to long lasting damage which was compounded by institutions going on full defensive mode, doubling down on their old premises instead of adopting humility and compassion, admitting to mistakes. Those that continue to justify this in the name of "containment" are chipping away what little is left.
Meanwhile Trump and his followers were out there making racist comments and saber-rattling at China. That astoundingly boneheaded diplomatic failure unnecessarily ratcheted international tensions to the point where, no, we absolutely were not able to simultaneously research the cause and also collaborate on mitigating the impact of the virus. That diplomatic tension was repeatedly highlighted as a specific reason that investigation would not be tenable. If you're going to talk about the erosion of trust, be honest and look at how the conspiracy theorists have been contributing to that erosion.
Your tired, shallow and jingoistic hot take conveniently ignores the very context of the story. The lab in Wuhan is literally an international collaboration. With China.
