It is “more likely” that covid-19 originated in a laboratory.
This was announced by a spokesperson from the CIA on Saturday, according to Reuters.
At the same time, it is noted that it is still reasonable that the infection could have a natural origin.
One of the first theories was that covid started in an animal market in Wuhan, China. But the CIA has said for several years that it cannot be determined whether covid was the result of a lab incident or whether it was created naturally.
In the final weeks of the Biden administration, former CIA Director William Burns asked CIA analysts and researchers to try to come up with an answer. Now the CIA has announced that it is “more likely” that Covid-19 was created in a laboratory, rather than in nature.
The CIA thus goes against its own previous assessment, namely that the virus was not genetically modified when it spread and was not processed in a laboratory – a conclusion made public in 2023.
However, the organization adds that “confidence is low” for the conclusion, which assessors say suggests the evidence is incomplete or contradictory.
Beijing: The claims not credible
The Chinese government has said it supports and participates in research to determine the origin of covid. But the claims that the virus would have leaked from a laboratory are not credible, they say.
On Friday, it was confirmed that John Ratcliffe will be the new director of the CIA. In an interview with Breitbart, said that one of his first priorities is to get the CIA to make a public assessment of the origin of the pandemic and that he believes that covid comes from a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
– The only theory supported by science, intelligence and common sense, he said in 2023.
Covid came from animal market according to previous study
Last September, a study came out that pointed to the coronavirus originating from an animal market in Wuhan, China.
Two animals that were then pointed out as possible spreaders of infection were bats and the raccoon.
The short-tailed porcupine, the rat Rhizomys pruinosus and the hedgehog Erinaceus amurensis could also be possible but less likely hosts, according to the study.