Intel agencies call COVID lab leak 'plausible' — but shoot down the right wing's bioweapon conspiracy theory
America's intelligence agencies on Friday released a report showing inconclusive evidence about the origins of the novel coronavirus, although all of them said that the theory that the virus leaked from a lab in Wuhan was "plausible."
CNN reports that four of the agencies involved in the review believe with low confidence that the virus most likely originated naturally, while one agency said it has moderate confidence in the lab leak theory.
The agencies said that they could not reach definitive conclusions about the virus's origins due to a lack of cooperation on behalf of the Chinese government.
"The IC -- and the global scientific community -- lacks clinical samples or a complete understanding of epidemiological data from the earliest Covid-19 cases," the agencies wrote. "China's cooperation most likely would be needed to reach a conclusive assessment of the origins of Covid-19. Beijing, however, continues to hinder the global investigation, resist sharing information and blame(s) other countries, including the United States."
Even though the agencies came to no conclusions about the virus's origins, they did debunk certain conspiracy theories, including that it was designed by China as a bioweapon or that the virus was genetically engineered.
