WASHINGTON: US intelligence agencies They were unable to determine whether the researchers at the lab in Wuhan, China, who fell ill in the fall of 2019, were infected with covid-19, which soon spread around the world, according to a declassified report released Friday.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence revealed details about the Wuhan Institute of Virology scientists who fell ill in 2019 before the first documented Covid infections, as well as coronavirus research conducted in the laboratory by the People’s Liberation Army of China. However, none of the published intelligence data definitively pointed to lab-related work as the cause of the pandemic, which has claimed nearly 7 million deaths.
The report comes months after President Joe Biden signed into law a bill requiring the declassification of intelligence related to the pandemic’s possible links to the lab. It will do little to settle the heated debate over how Covid-19 started, which is already the source of clashes and partisan investigations.
It’s also far from the last word on how the pandemic started. Intelligence officials have said they are still seeking key information from China.
“When President Biden signed the Covid-19 Source Act, he directed the intelligence community to use all the tools at its disposal to investigate the source of Covid-19,” the House National Security Council spokesman said. Blanca, Adam Hodge, in an emailed statement. “The publication of this report reflects that commitment to declassify and share as much information as possible related to the origins of Covid-19, while protecting sources and methods.”
The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
missed deadline
The Biden administration missed a June 18 deadline to release the declassified intelligence. It coincided with the long-awaited trip of the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to Beijing, where he met with the Chinese president. Xi Jinping in an effort to restore communications between the high command and the armed forces of the countries.
The trip, originally scheduled for February, was delayed following an outcry over an alleged Chinese spy balloon sighted over the United States. Biden signed into law requiring Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to release the declassified information in March.
The new report builds on previous findings, including a January 2021 State Department report that suggested the US government had reason to believe that several researchers within the wuhan laboratory became ill in 2019, before the first identified case of the Covid-19 outbreak, with symptoms consistent with the virus and common seasonal illnesses.
The ODNI report indicated that there is no indication that the researchers have been hospitalized due to Covid, and that the intelligence community was unable to confirm whether any of the researchers had handled live viruses before becoming ill.
The report acknowledged that Wuhan researchers have collaborated with the People’s Liberation Army on public health research that included coronaviruses and vaccines and treatments for such viruses, although there is no known research that could have led to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2.
Some scientists at the Wuhan institute have genetically engineered coronaviruses using common laboratory practices, according to the report, adding that it is not aware of virus manipulations that could have been the source of SARS-CoV-2.
The report also identified safety and security issues at the institute that could have increased the risk of accidental exposure to viruses. The intelligence community said it is not aware of a specific biosecurity incident that may have sparked the pandemic.
Laboratory leak hypothesis
To date, the US intelligence community has shared few details about the information it has collected since the start of the pandemic.
Last year, the agencies concluded that two causes were plausible: the virus arose in animals and spread to humans, or that it arose from an incident at a laboratory in Wuhan. Despite disagreement between agencies over which hypothesis was more likely, the intelligence community agreed that Covid-19 was not intentionally developed as a bioweapon.
Both the FBI and the Department of Energy have said, with low to moderate confidence, that the laboratory leak theory is possible. That remains a minority opinion, with most other groups considering human exposure to an infected animal more likely.
The report also said that most, but not all, intelligence agencies have ruled out that Covid-19 was genetically modified or laboratory adapted.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence revealed details about the Wuhan Institute of Virology scientists who fell ill in 2019 before the first documented Covid infections, as well as coronavirus research conducted in the laboratory by the People’s Liberation Army of China. However, none of the published intelligence data definitively pointed to lab-related work as the cause of the pandemic, which has claimed nearly 7 million deaths.
The report comes months after President Joe Biden signed into law a bill requiring the declassification of intelligence related to the pandemic’s possible links to the lab. It will do little to settle the heated debate over how Covid-19 started, which is already the source of clashes and partisan investigations.
It’s also far from the last word on how the pandemic started. Intelligence officials have said they are still seeking key information from China.
“When President Biden signed the Covid-19 Source Act, he directed the intelligence community to use all the tools at its disposal to investigate the source of Covid-19,” the House National Security Council spokesman said. Blanca, Adam Hodge, in an emailed statement. “The publication of this report reflects that commitment to declassify and share as much information as possible related to the origins of Covid-19, while protecting sources and methods.”
The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
missed deadline
The Biden administration missed a June 18 deadline to release the declassified intelligence. It coincided with the long-awaited trip of the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to Beijing, where he met with the Chinese president. Xi Jinping in an effort to restore communications between the high command and the armed forces of the countries.
The trip, originally scheduled for February, was delayed following an outcry over an alleged Chinese spy balloon sighted over the United States. Biden signed into law requiring Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to release the declassified information in March.
The new report builds on previous findings, including a January 2021 State Department report that suggested the US government had reason to believe that several researchers within the wuhan laboratory became ill in 2019, before the first identified case of the Covid-19 outbreak, with symptoms consistent with the virus and common seasonal illnesses.
The ODNI report indicated that there is no indication that the researchers have been hospitalized due to Covid, and that the intelligence community was unable to confirm whether any of the researchers had handled live viruses before becoming ill.
The report acknowledged that Wuhan researchers have collaborated with the People’s Liberation Army on public health research that included coronaviruses and vaccines and treatments for such viruses, although there is no known research that could have led to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2.
Some scientists at the Wuhan institute have genetically engineered coronaviruses using common laboratory practices, according to the report, adding that it is not aware of virus manipulations that could have been the source of SARS-CoV-2.
The report also identified safety and security issues at the institute that could have increased the risk of accidental exposure to viruses. The intelligence community said it is not aware of a specific biosecurity incident that may have sparked the pandemic.
Laboratory leak hypothesis
To date, the US intelligence community has shared few details about the information it has collected since the start of the pandemic.
Last year, the agencies concluded that two causes were plausible: the virus arose in animals and spread to humans, or that it arose from an incident at a laboratory in Wuhan. Despite disagreement between agencies over which hypothesis was more likely, the intelligence community agreed that Covid-19 was not intentionally developed as a bioweapon.
Both the FBI and the Department of Energy have said, with low to moderate confidence, that the laboratory leak theory is possible. That remains a minority opinion, with most other groups considering human exposure to an infected animal more likely.
The report also said that most, but not all, intelligence agencies have ruled out that Covid-19 was genetically modified or laboratory adapted.
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