US intelligence agencies said on Friday they may never be able to identify the origins of COVID-19, as they released a new, more detailed version of their review of whether the coronavirus came from an animal-to-human transmission or leaked from a lab.
The Office of the US Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a declassified report that a natural origin and a lab leak are both plausible hypotheses for how SARS-COV-2 first infected humans. But it said analysts disagree on which is more likely or whether any definitive assessment can be made at all.
The report also dismissed suggestions that the coronavirus originated as a bioweapon, saying proponents of this theory “do not have direct access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology” and have been accused of spreading disinformation.
It said the intelligence community remains divided on the most likely origin of the virus. Four agencies assessed with "low confidence" it had originated with an infected animal or a related virus. But one agency said it had "moderate confidence" that the first human infection most likely was the result of a laboratory accident, probably involving experimentation or animal handling by the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The report also said Chinese officials were unaware of the existence of the virus before the initial outbreak of Covid-19 in the city of Wuhan, in late 2019. But it said China was continuing to hinder the global investigation and to resist sharing information.
China responded on Friday by criticizing the report.
“The US moves of relying on its intelligence apparatus instead of scientists to trace the origins of COVID-19 is a complete political farce,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said in an emailed statement.
“.. It will only undermine science-based origins study and hinder the global effort of finding the source of the virus,” the statement said.
Chinese authorities linked early Covid-19 cases to a seafood market in Wuhan, leading scientists to theorize that the virus first passed to humans from animals. But earlier this year, US media reports suggested growing evidence the virus could instead have emerged from the Wuhab laboratory, perhaps through an accidental leak.
In May, President Biden ordered intelligence officials to investigate the virus's origins, including the lab leak theory, which is rejected by China.
The Office of the US Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a declassified report that a natural origin and a lab leak are both plausible hypotheses for how SARS-COV-2 first infected humans. But it said analysts disagree on which is more likely or whether any definitive assessment can be made at all.
The report also dismissed suggestions that the coronavirus originated as a bioweapon, saying proponents of this theory “do not have direct access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology” and have been accused of spreading disinformation.
It said the intelligence community remains divided on the most likely origin of the virus. Four agencies assessed with "low confidence" it had originated with an infected animal or a related virus. But one agency said it had "moderate confidence" that the first human infection most likely was the result of a laboratory accident, probably involving experimentation or animal handling by the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The report also said Chinese officials were unaware of the existence of the virus before the initial outbreak of Covid-19 in the city of Wuhan, in late 2019. But it said China was continuing to hinder the global investigation and to resist sharing information.
China responded on Friday by criticizing the report.
“The US moves of relying on its intelligence apparatus instead of scientists to trace the origins of COVID-19 is a complete political farce,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said in an emailed statement.
“.. It will only undermine science-based origins study and hinder the global effort of finding the source of the virus,” the statement said.
Chinese authorities linked early Covid-19 cases to a seafood market in Wuhan, leading scientists to theorize that the virus first passed to humans from animals. But earlier this year, US media reports suggested growing evidence the virus could instead have emerged from the Wuhab laboratory, perhaps through an accidental leak.
In May, President Biden ordered intelligence officials to investigate the virus's origins, including the lab leak theory, which is rejected by China.
