A declassified US intelligence report on the origins of COVID-19 published on Friday has found no direct evidence to prove the pandemic broke out from a Chinese laboratory. The 10-page report was published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as a response to the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2024. In March 2024, the US Congress urged the US Intelligence Community (IC) to disclose within 90 days the intelligence data they possess regarding potential connections between the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and the COVID-19 pandemic’s origin. The report was published a week late after missing the deadline imposed by the Act passed by Congress. The 90-day period ended on June 18.
Assessments on COVID-19 origin
“All agencies continue to assess that both a natural and laboratory-associated origin remain plausible hypotheses to explain the first human infection,” the intelligence report said.
Divergent opinions persist among US Intelligence agencies regarding the origin of the pandemic. The National Intelligence Council and four other IC agencies believe that the SARS-CoV-2 was transferred to humans by natural exposure to an infected animal. At the same time, the Department of Energy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation believes in the lab leak theory. The Central Intelligence Agency and another agency were unable to determine the exact cause of the COVID-19 origin.
Nevertheless, most of the US Intelligence Community (IC) agree that the SARS-CoV-2 was not genetically engineered and was not developed as a biological weapon.
The origin of COVID-19 remains a mystery
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Despite the consensus that the virus has not developed as a biological weapon, the IC report gives very little to end the debate on the virus’s origin. It is likely to remain a mystery whether the virus that took the lives of 7 million people originated from the WIV or the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan. Though the IC has not ruled out the possibility of a laboratory origin of the virus, the report remains insufficient to curb the debate.
The report indicates that the WIV research included works with several viruses, including coronaviruses, but there are no indications of the SARS-CoV-2 or a close progenitor. However, the report says that some WIV researchers failed to use adequate biosafety precautions while handling SARS-like coronaviruses, which may have risked accidental exposure to viruses.
Republicans angered by the report
The latest report has angered some Republicans and has blamed the Biden administration has been withholding classified information regarding the outbreak of COVID-19. The Republicans in Congress have strongly supported the lab leak theory. Responding to the ODNI report, the Republican chairs of the House Intelligence Committee and a select subcommittee on the pandemic have given a collective statement that they have compiled evidence supporting the hypothesis of a laboratory leak. The chair considers the ODNI report a “promising step toward transparency, ” but they want the investigation to continue to achieve complete transparency over the issue.
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John Ratcliffe, who previously served as the director of national intelligence in the Trump administration, reacted to the report and criticized the Biden administration for “continued obfuscation.” In a statement, Ratcliffe asserted that the theory of a laboratory leak is the sole explanation substantiated by science, intelligence, and common sense. Earlier this year, the US Department of Energy claimed with “low confidence” that the virus originated from a lab in a report that was not made public. However, the White House officials declined to confirm this report published by the Wall Street Journal.
China has not responded to the ODNI report so far.
