The CIA Now Assess the Virus that Causes Covid-19 More Likely Originated from an Accidental Lab Leak in China
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has stated that the virus that causes Covid-19 is more likely to have originated from an accidental lab leak in China rather than occurring naturally. This assessment, which was made publicly known on Saturday, is a “low confidence” judgment and does not rule out the possibility that the virus could have originated naturally.
The determination is seen as a significant shift in the CIA’s stance on the origins of the pandemic, which has long been a topic of debate and discussion. The agency had previously stated that it did not have enough information to determine which origin theory was more likely, and its new assessment is based on a review of existing information rather than new intelligence.
The assessment is a major move by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who has long been a proponent of the lab leak theory. In an interview with Breitbart, Ratcliffe stated that he believes the origin of Covid-19 is a “leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology” and vowed to make the issue a priority.
The CIA’s assessment comes as a blow to the scientific community, which has long believed that the virus occurred naturally in animals and spread to humans in an outbreak at a market in Wuhan, China. The lab leak theory has been embraced by some US lawmakers, including Donald Trump, who launched an effort to prove the virus originated in a Chinese lab during his presidency.
Despite the CIA’s assessment, the intelligence community remains divided on the origin of the virus, and every US intelligence agency still maintains that it was not developed as a biological weapon. However, the agency has been unable to determine with high confidence whether the pandemic originated from a lab leak or occurred naturally.
