I'd agree but I have never seen someone that said "I did my own research" in this context who is not a nutjob. "I did my own research" in this context deeply implies that there is a conspiracy going on. This disease has been the primary focus of the whole world for the last 1.5 years, all data is publicly available, and is publicly interpreted by countless independent top experts in the field frequently. If you "did your own research" and believe things to be opposite of countless independent experts are saying, you probably believe in a conspiracy around all this - that is nutjob territory to me. If you are researching a very niche, understudied subject, sure. But in contexts like this, you probably won't hear the words "I did my own research" from people who know what they are saying.