Unless an unexpected breakthrough occurs, U.S. intelligence agencies will be unable to determine whether the COVID-19 virus has spread through animal-to-human transmission or leaked from a laboratory. This thesis was presented on Friday by representatives of the authorities.
According to the Associated Press, the report is based on results released in August after a 90-day analysis commissioned by President Joe Biden. The review says the US intelligence agencies are divided over the origin of the virus. However, analysts do not believe that the virus originated in the laboratory as a biological weapon. Most intelligence agencies also believe that the virus has not been genetically modified.
Genesis of the virus
The PA reminds that China has resisted global pressure to fully cooperate in determining the origin of the pandemic or to share the genetic sequences of coronaviruses held at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The report states that the Wuhan Institute of Virology “has previously created combinations of coronaviruses similar to SARS, but this is not enough to conclude whether the COVID-19 virus was genetically created by this institute.”
“Allegations that China launched the virus as a biological weapon have been rejected because its supporters do not have direct access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, make scientifically incorrect statements or are accused of spreading disinformation,” the document says.
Intelligence investigation
AP notes that four intelligence agencies have concluded, albeit with low confidence, that the virus was originally transmitted from animal to human. She added that the Fifth Intelligence Agency estimated with moderate confidence that the first human infection was laboratory-related.
In compiling the report, analysts deliberately tried to strengthen or weaken each hypothesis. Scientists initially thought the virus came from animals sold at the Huanan market in Wuhan, which some have now ruled out. Thus, the problem remains unresolved.