Senate GOP Report on COVID Origin Backs Lab Leak Theory

A report by Senate Republicans on the origin of the coronavirus pandemic said it was the result of a “research-related incident that was likely unintentional” from a lab in Wuhan, China.

The report, obtained by Axios, describes this evidence as “circumstantial.” It said the leading theories that the virus originated from a wet market in Wuhan that sold live animals and from a lab leak are missing key supporting evidence. But it said the theory of it coming from a lab leak is stronger.

The report was the result of an investigation launched by former Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee from 2021-23, into the virus’ origin. Burr did not seek reelection in 2022, but work on the report continued.

“Since the team did not complete their work before Sen. Burr left office, this became a product without a home,” said a former senior Republican aide who worked on the report and provided it to Axios.

The report said scientists haven’t found any naturally occurring viruses with the same composition of the coronavirus, and there’s evidence the virus was circulating in Wuhan before the first known cases connected to the wet market were reported.

The report also said it appears Chinese researchers began development of at least two COVID vaccines in November 2019, including at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which, the report said, “means SARS-CoV-2 would have been present at the WIV before the known outbreak of the pandemic.”

It also documents numerous instances of lab safety concerns throughout 2019, including around the time when the virus might have first appeared.

There is no known evidence of the virus having circulated in an intermediary host, although direct bat-to-human transmission can’t be ruled out. But there’s also no public evidence of an originator virus being held at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which did research on bat coronaviruses.

The investigation into the virus’ origins have been hampered by a lack of cooperation from China. FBI Director Christopher Wray said in February the pandemic “most likely” resulted from a potential lab leak in Wuhan.