Is Covid-19 Emerged from a Lab Leak or Natural Transmission?

According to an updated 2021 US energy department report on Sunday, Covid-19 most likely emerged from a laboratory leak. 

What is the Complete Story?

Several studies came up on how the virus that drove the Coronavirus pandemic emerged. There are conflicting explanations on whether Covid-19 emerged from an unidentified animal transmission or an accidental Chinese laboratory leak in Wuhan. 

According to the World Health Organization, since the coronavirus spread in early 2020, it has caused close to 7 million deaths worldwide. 

One of the studies from National Intelligence director Avril Haines came with a finding reportedly issued with moderate confidence by the FBI that virus likely spread from a Chinese Laboratory leak. 

The study was overseen by a network of 17 US laboratories and areas of advanced biology and concluded that the judgement was with low confidence. The former US president called it the China virus that triggered a racialization of a pandemic. 

The study from the energy department ran through four other US intelligence agencies that concluded the pandemic was caused due to a natural transmission from an infected animal. But there were two agencies that did not agree with the conclusion. 

The US officials declined to expand the analysis resulting in the energy department changing its position. Officials also declared that the FBI arrived at the same results but for different reasons. 

Lab Leak Theory was Plausible

In May 2021, the Energy department’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory came out with a report that the Covid-19 lab leak theory was plausible. 

As Covid-19 was first circulated in Wuhan, China, according to the initial US 2021 Intelligence report, three researchers from the Wuhan Institute were involved in the coronavirus research. 

A spokesperson for the energy department made a statement that they continue to support the objective work of intelligence professionals in investigating the origins of Covid-19.

Undecided

According to the National Intelligence Council study, the CIA remains undecided whether it is a laboratory leak or a natural transmission. However, the 2021 study did not reach any result, but it provided a view that Covid-19 was not a part of the Chinese biological weapons program. 

On Sunday, the National Security adviser, Jake Sullivan, acknowledged that there are different views within US Intelligence agencies on the tragedy. He said some community elements had reached conclusions on one side, and some on the other had enough information to be sure. 

Sullivan added that the Biden Administration had directed every community element to try to get the results. Under the energy department, Biden even requested the National Laboratories to be bought into the assessment. 

The president wants to use every tool to figure out what actually happened and how. Referring to eight of eighteen agencies, including the National Intelligence Council, still, there is no definitive answer to the question how the virus actually emerged.

Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts on whether Covid-19 originated from a lab leak or natural transmission in the comment section below.