The U.S. intelligence community concluded its 90-day investigation into the origins of COVID-19 with an inconclusive report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Friday.
President Joe Biden initiated the investigation to uncover the origins of the virus, but the final summary did not provide a definitive answer. While the report highlights uncertainties surrounding the virus's emergence, it acknowledges that Chinese officials \"did not have foreknowledge of the virus before the initial outbreak.\"
China has consistently called on the U.S. to respect scientific processes and cease politicizing the tracing of COVID-19 origins. The country has also extended invitations to WHO experts to assist in the origins investigation.
The report clarifies that COVID-19 was neither developed as a biological weapon nor genetically engineered. However, opinions within the intelligence community remain split. Some agencies express low confidence that the virus originated from natural animal exposure, while others hold moderate confidence that a lab accident might be the source. Additionally, certain agencies believe more information is needed, citing a lack of clinical samples and comprehensive epidemiological data from early COVID-19 cases.
Complementing these findings, a WHO report released in March suggests that the introduction of COVID-19 through an intermediate host is \"likely to very likely,\" through cold or food chain products is \"possible,\" and through a laboratory incident is \"extremely unlikely.\"
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
