The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has assessed that the COVID-19 pandemic is “more likely” to have emerged from a laboratory rather than from natural origins, an agency spokesperson confirmed on Saturday.
For years, the CIA maintained that it could not determine whether the virus originated from a lab incident or naturally from animals. However, in the final weeks of the Biden administration, then-CIA Director William Burns instructed analysts and scientists to reach a clearer conclusion, citing the pandemic’s historical significance.
CIA’s Updated Assessment
According to a senior U.S. official, the CIA now holds “low confidence” that COVID-19 likely stemmed from a research-related origin, but acknowledges that both lab-origin and natural-origin scenarios remain plausible.
The extent to which new intelligence contributed to this revised assessment remains unclear.
China’s Response
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Chinese government has consistently denied the lab-leak theory, arguing that claims suggesting the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology lack credibility. Beijing has accused Washington of politicizing the issue, despite participating in international research efforts to determine the virus’s origins.
CIA Director Prioritizes Public Assessment
In an interview with Breitbart, newly confirmed CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated that investigating the origins of COVID-19 would be a top priority for him.
“That’s a day-one thing for me. I’ve been on record saying that 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.”This updated CIA assessment marks a shift in the intelligence community’s position on the origins of the global pandemic that killed millions and disrupted economies worldwide.
