The U.S. Department of Energy has updated its previously undecided stance on the origins of the pandemic coronavirus, saying it was most likely caused by a laboratory accident, with a “low degree of confidence,” according to classified intelligence documents. . The Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday.
The change reignites a bitter, often partisan debate over the elusive beginning of SARS-CoV-2’s global devastation. This argument is largely fueled by insufficient evidence on both sides.
Still, the Department of Energy, which runs national laboratories, is in the minority. Of his eight elements of the intelligence community that have considered information about the origins of SARS-CoV-2, only two of them currently lean towards the so-called “Laborique” hypothesis. Another, according to the WSJ, is the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which concluded with “medium confidence” in 2021 that the pandemic was caused by a lab leak. It is unknown whether
in contrast, Four other intelligence agencies and the National Intelligence Council The pandemic was likely caused by human exposure to infected animals, possibly via the virus’s natural hosts (such as bats) and animals that act as intermediate hosts before infecting humans. We rate it as highly probable.
The two remaining intelligence agencies concluded that there was not enough data to formulate either a laboratory leak or contagion hypothesis.
All intelligence agencies agree that SARS-CoV-2 was not developed as a bioweapon and that Chinese authorities did not foresee the virus prior to its appearance in Wuhan in late 2019.
limited data
Many virologists and epidemiologists believe that natural spillover infection is most likely, and have focused on epidemiological and genetic data pointing to this scenario. Two studies published in Two virus lineages of SARS-CoV-2 spread to humans in two independent eventsprobably occurring within days to weeks, with most of the earliest cases Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market In Wuhan, particularly in sections of the market where wildlife and virus-positive environmental samples are concentrated. Suggesting the group was included in the market, this has been a long-term source of infection for market participants. And the virus flew from there.
However, staunch proponents of the Laborique hypothesis argue that the market served as the setting for the superspreader event rather than the origin of the spillover. . Three researchers at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill Not only did I go to the hospital for something in November 2019, Obscure US State Department telegram from 2018 discusses biosafety issues at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
There remains no confirmed evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 precursor virus was present in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“Not a definitive answer”
It’s unclear how the Department of Energy’s stance on the lab leak hypothesis has changed, three years after the pandemic began, and the stream of new evidence has largely dried up. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported that the agency’s position was updated with new information pulled from the national lab network. Some of it involves biological research. A CNN source said the Department of Energy’s new confidential report on the matter “resembleThe information comes from the House Republican Intelligence Committee report released last year.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan declined to confirm or deny the Energy Department’s latest view on the origins of the coronavirus, in an interview on CNN Sunday. union statusSullivan highlighted the lack of consensus.
“Intelligence agencies have different views,” he said. “Some elements of the intelligence community have reached a conclusion on one side and some on the other. rice field.
“But at this time, there is no definitive answer given by intelligence agencies on this issue,” he said.
