John Kirby, White House National Security spokesman, in a news conference at the White House was reported as saying that there is still not a 100 percent clarity over the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although a popular theory, there is no definitive evidence that the virus was leaked from a lab in China.
Table of Contents
The origin of the COVID-19 pandemic has already inspired several debates and theories around the world, but a substantial theory hasn’t been established yet. The US government is still trying to find out the origin of the virus. The White House news conference remarks come after a report by the US Energy Department states that the virus mostly likely leaked from a lab in China.
White House remains neutral over COVID-19 origin
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the US Energy Department has conjectured that the pandemic likely resulted from an unintended lab leak in Wuhan, China. The media reported that the conclusion was made with “low confidence.”
The Wall Street Journal further reported that four other agencies believed that COVID-19 originated due to natural transmission, and two agencies are still undecided as to whether the virus was a lab leak or naturally occurring.
Regarding the “not definitive conclusion,” John Kirby said, “What the US President wants is facts. He wants the whole government designed to get those facts and that’s what we are doing. And we’re not just there yet.”
In response to the report, which was first released by the Wall Street Journal, China denied any such claims relating to the virus being a lab leak. Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, accused the US of politicizing the covid-19 pandemic and using it as a smear campaign against China. She further added that China has always been “open and transparent” about the origin of the virus.
This new altercation comes amid the already strained relationship between Beijing and Washington. The two countries have had multiple altercations in recent months. The Chinese balloon controversy, as well as China’s alleged consideration of providing lethal aid to Russia, had already sparked tensions between the two countries.
The politicization of COVID-19
On one hand, China has always maintained that the virus originated as a result of natural occurrences and has claimed to be open and transparent about the whole thing. On the other hand, ever since the virus took hold of the whole world, many have claimed that the COVID-19 virus originated from a lab in Wuhan, China. Some believe the leak was intentional, and others believe that it was unintentional.
The theory that the virus was lab-produced was once seen as nothing more than a conspiracy or fringe theory by experts. But in recent developments, many, including government and science experts, have come to believe that the virus was indeed lab-borne.
The conclusive evidence on whether the virus was naturally occurring or lab produced hasn’t been established yet. The politicization of the pandemic also hasn’t helped with the objective truth of the virus’s origin. Maybe the virus was naturally occurring, or maybe it was lab-produced. In order to establish a correct historical record of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world needs a true, unbiased scientific consensus.
