CIA Concludes Lab Leak is Most Likely Origin of COVID Outbreak | World News

The CIA now believes that the COVID-19 pandemic is “more likely” to have originated from a laboratory leak in China rather than from animals.

This assessment comes after the release of new analysis that was initiated under the Biden administration at the request of former CIA director William Burns.

For years, the CIA has maintained that it was uncertain whether COVID-19 stemmed from a lab incident or had a natural origin.

The latest evaluation points to China as being involved while also admitting a “low confidence” in this conclusion, noting that both lab and natural origins remain plausible.

These findings are not based on new evidence, but rather on a renewed analysis of intelligence regarding the virus’s spread, its scientific characteristics, and the operations and conditions of China’s virology labs.

“The CIA continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic remain plausible,” the agency stated.

The report was declassified and made public on Saturday under the direction of John Ratcliffe, who was appointed by former US President Donald Trump and sworn in as director on Thursday.

Ratcliffe stated that one of his primary goals was to ensure his agency makes a public assessment regarding the origins of the pandemic.

“That’s a day-one thing for me,” he told Breitbart News.

“I have previously stated that the intelligence, our scientific understanding, and common sense suggest that the origins of COVID were likely due to a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”

Earlier reports on the origins of coronavirus have been divided on whether it emerged from a Chinese lab, possibly due to an accident, or developed naturally.

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In March 2021, a report by the World Health Organisation concluded that the most probable origin of COVID-19 was transmission from bats to humans through an unidentified intermediate animal species.

The possibility of COVID-19 escaping from one of the virus laboratories in Wuhan, the initial epicenter, was deemed “extremely unlikely,” though it was not entirely ruled out.

The theory that the coronavirus was intentionally engineered or released from a lab was dismissed.

In May 2023, a former high-ranking Chinese government scientist remarked that the possibility that COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab should not be disregarded.

The Chinese government has asserted its participation in research aimed at identifying the virus’s origins and accused the United States of politicizing the issue.

Beijing claims that allegations suggesting a lab leak likely caused the pandemic lack credibility.

The CIA stated it will continue to assess any new information that could alter its evaluation.