The U.S. intelligence community has concluded a 90-day investigation into the origins of COVID-19 but remains divided on the findings.
President Joe Biden commissioned the probe, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released an unclassified summary on Friday. While the report highlights uncertainties surrounding the virus, it acknowledges that Chinese officials \"did not have foreknowledge of the virus before the initial outbreak.\"
China has called on the U.S. to respect scientific processes and refrain from politicizing the search for COVID-19's origins. They have also invited WHO experts twice to assist in tracing the virus's beginnings.
The investigation determined that COVID-19 was neither developed as a biological weapon nor genetically engineered. However, opinions within the intelligence agencies vary:
Some agencies believe with low confidence that the virus likely originated from natural animal exposure.
Others assess with moderate confidence that a lab accident is the most probable source of the first human infection.
Several agencies are seeking more information before committing to either theory, citing a lack of clinical samples and incomplete epidemiological data from the earliest cases.
Additionally, a March WHO report suggested that transmission through an intermediate host is \"likely to very likely,\" while introduction through cold/food chain products is \"possible,\" and a laboratory incident is \"extremely unlikely.\"
During former President Donald Trump's administration, some officials, including then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, promoted theories that the virus might have been engineered in a Chinese laboratory. However, the current investigation does not support these claims.
As the global community continues to navigate the aftermath of the pandemic, the quest to understand its origins remains a topic of significant interest and debate.
