The CIA now believes the COVID-19 pandemic is “more likely” to have originated from a laboratory leak in China than from animals.
It follows the release of new analysis that began under the Biden administration at the request of former CIA director William Burns.
For years, the CIA has said it is unclear whether COVID-19 was the result of a lab incident or a natural origin.
Its latest assessment points the finger at China even while acknowledging it has “low confidence” in its own conclusion, noting in its statement both scenarios – lab and natural origin – remain plausible.
The findings are not based on new evidence, but fresh analysis of intelligence about the spread of the virus, its scientific properties and the work and conditions of China’s virology labs.
“CIA continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic remain plausible,” the agency said in a statement.
The report was declassified and released on Saturday on the orders of US President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the US spy agency, John Ratcliffe, who was sworn in on Thursday as director.
He said one of his first priorities was getting his agency to make a public assessment on the pandemic’s origins.
“That’s a day-one thing for me,” he told Breitbart News.
“I’ve been on record as you know in saying I think our intelligence, our science, and our common sense all really dictate that the origins of COVID was a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”
Previous reports on the origins of coronavirus were split over whether it emerged from a Chinese lab, potentially by mistake, or whether it arose naturally.
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In March 2021, a report by the World Health Organisation concluded the most likely origin for COVID-19 was transmission from a bat to humans via an unidentified intermediate animal species.
The possibility COVID-19 escaped from one of the virus laboratories in Wuhan – the initial epicentre – was deemed “extremely unlikely”, although it was not completely ruled out.
It dismissed the theory that coronavirus was deliberately engineered or released by a lab.
In May 2023, a former top Chinese government scientist said the possibility COVID-19 could have leaked from a Chinese lab should not be ruled out.
China’s government says it supports and has taken part in research to determine the origin of the virus, and has accused Washington of politicising the matter.
Beijing has said claims a laboratory leak likely caused the pandemic have no credibility.
The CIA said it will continue to evaluate any new information that could change its assessment.
