The Central Intelligence Agency has altered its stance on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, stating it now considers a laboratory leak as a more probable cause than natural transmission from animals to humans, marking a significant shift in the agency's position after years of inconclusive assessments. The announcement comes just days after former Republican lawmaker John Ratcliffe assumed leadership of the CIA.
According to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity, the revised assessment was based on a fresh analysis completed before Ratcliffe’s arrival. Ratcliffe authorized its public release.
A CIA spokesperson, who also remained anonymous, conveyed the agency’s updated assessment in an email to reporters: “We have low confidence in this judgment and will continue to evaluate any available credible new intelligence reporting or open-source information that could change the CIA’s assessment.”
The statement offered no further details about the intelligence or evidence underpinning the shift in position. It also noted that the agency continues to view the lab leak and natural origin theories as plausible explanations for the pandemic's emergence, according to the article in Politico.
The origins of COVID-19 have been a contentious topic since the pandemic began. The first known cases emerged in Wuhan, China, where the Wuhan Institute of Virology was experimenting on bat-derived viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2 .Lab-leak theory proponents point to this proximity as evidence of a possible research-related incident.
However, many virologists and public health experts argue that the virus likely spread naturally from animals to humans, potentially through a market in Wuhan where exotic animals were sold.
An unclassified 2023 assessment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence highlighted the divide within the intelligence community. While the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) supported the lab-leak theory with moderate confidence, the Department of Energy backed it with low confidence. Most other intelligence agencies have leaned toward a natural origin.
“The vast preponderance of the intelligence we had pointed toward a research-related incident, not natural transmission,” Ratcliffe said.
The CIA’s revised stance has fueled renewed debate among policymakers. “Now, the most important thing is to make China pay for unleashing a plague on the world," said Senator Cotton (R-Ark.), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The Chinese government has consistently denied the lab-leak theory, labeling it a politically motivated claim lacking scientific evidence.
Source: Politico