The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) put forward a new hypothesis on the origins of the COVID-19 virus outbreak, saying that the virus is “more likely” to have been caused by a laboratory leak in China than from animals.
The CIA acknowledges it has “low confidence” in this conclusion. It is based on new analysis of intelligence regarding the spread of the virus rather than new found evidence.
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The analysis started under Biden
Since the outbreak, the CIA has pointed out that it’s unclear whether COVID’s origins were from a lab or natural causes.
This latest assessment on the origins of the coronavirus comes following new analysis that had begun under the Biden administration after former CIA director William Burns requested it, according to Sky News.
CIA says COVID likely originated in a lab
The latest analysis from the CIA of intelligence about the spread of the virus says the origins of the virus were “more likely” from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, which is just a 40-minute drive from Huanan wet market where the first cluster of coronavirus was tracked to.
This comes under the new CIA director
This new analysis, which is not based on new evidence, is released under the new CIA director John Ratcliffe, who was appointed by Donald Trump and took over the agency on Thursday 23 January.
The CIA has acknowledged it has “low confidence” in its conclusion and that a natural cause for COVID-19 is still as plausible as a lab origin.
The new director prioritizes COVID origins
According to the BBC, a spokesperson said a “research-related origin” of the coronavirus “is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting”.
New CIA director Ratcliffe said that figuring out the origins of COVID was a priority to him as he took on his role.
Ratcliffe wanted to “get off the sidelines”
Ratcliffe said, “One of the things that I’ve talked about a lot is addressing the threat from China on a number of fronts, and that goes back to why a million Americans died and why the Central Intelligence Agency has been sitting on the sidelines for five years in not making an assessment about the origins of Covid.”
The review is in “low confidence”
The assessment of the origins of the COVID-19 virus given on Saturday 25 January is actually in “low confidence” as acknowledged by the CIA itself.
There is still no consensus on the cause of the coronavirus global pandemic, and both natural and lab origins are plausible.
The report was declassified
The report on this hypothesis was declassified on orders from the US president Donald Trump and was released on Saturday.
Ratcliffe said one of his priorities is figuring out COVID-19’s origins. “That’s a day-one thing for me,” he told Breitbart News, according to Sky News.
Ratcliffe believes it may have been from a lab
“I’ve been on record as you know in saying I think our intelligence, our science, and our common sense all really dictate that the origins of COVID was a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Ratcliffe said of his hypothesis.
Reports on the origin of the virus were split
Over the years, reports on the origins of the virus were split on whether it had emerged from a potential mistake in a Chinese lab or from natural causes.
The World Health Organization had concluded in March 2021 that the virus’ origin was likely a transmission from a bat to humans through an unidentified animal species. This dismissed theories that it could’ve originated in a lab.
China’s government is also looking into it
In May 2023, a former top Chinese government scientist said it shouldn’t be ruled out that the virus may have come from a lab.
The Chinese government says it supports research conducted to find the origins of the virus and has in the past accused Washington of “political manipulation.” The CIA has stated that it’ll continue assessing new information that could change its hypothesis.
