The virus that drove the Covid-19 pandemic most likely emerged from a laboratory leak but not as part of a weapons program, according to an updated and classified 2021 US energy department study provided to the White House and senior American lawmakers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
The departments finding a departure from previous studies on how the virus emerged came in an update to a document from the office of national intelligence director, Avril Haines, the WSJ reported. It follows a finding reportedly issued with moderate confidence by the FBI that the virus spread after leaking out of a Chinese laboratory.
The conclusion from the energy department which oversees a network of 17 US laboratories, including areas of advanced biology would be significant despite the fact that, as the report said, the agency made its updated judgment with low confidence.
Conflicting hypotheses on the origins of Covid-19 have centered either on an unidentified animal transmitting the virus to humans or its accidental leak from a Chinese research laboratory in Wuhan.
The spread of Covid-19, just one in a line of infectious coronoviruses to emerge, caught global health bodies unawares in early 2020. It has since caused close to 7m deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, and disrupted trade as well as travel.
Former US president Donald Trump politicized the issue, calling it the China virus, triggering a racialization of a pandemic that his Democratic successor Joe Biden has sought to avoid. But political polarization remains under the surface of efforts to establish its origins.
The energy departments updated findings run counter to reports by four other US intelligence agencies that concluded the epidemic started as the result of natural transmission from an infected animal. Two agencies remain undecided.
US officials, the Journal said, also declined to expand on new intelligence or analysis that led the energy department to change its position. They also noted that the energy department and FBI arrived at the same conclusion for different reasons.
The CIA remains undecided between leak and natural transmission theories, according to the National Intelligence Council study. But while the initial 2021 report did not reach a conclusion, it did offer a consensus view that Covid-19 was not part of a Chinese biological weapons program.
The national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, acknowledged on Sunday that there are a variety of views within US intelligence agencies on the issue.
Some elements of the intelligence community have reached conclusions on one side, some on the other, and a number have said they just dont have enough information to be sure, Sullivan told CNN.
But he said that the Biden administration has directed repeatedly every element of our intelligence community to put effort and resources on getting to the bottom of this question.
Sullivan added that Biden had specifically requested that the National Laboratories under the energy department be brought into the assessment. He wants to put every tool at use to figure out what happened, Sullivan said.
Right now there is not a definitive answer to emerge from the intelligence community on this question, he added, referring to eight of 18 agencies along with the National Intelligence Council that have looked in Covid-19s origins.
A previous report by the energy departments Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in May 2020 concluded that a lab-leak theory was plausible.
The updated, five-page NIC assessment, the Journal reported, was done in light of new intelligence, further study of academic literature and consultation with experts outside government and comes as Republicans in Congress press for more information.
A spokesperson for the energy department wrote in a statement that the agency continues to support the thorough, careful, and objective work of our intelligence professionals in investigating the origins of Covid-19, as the president directed.
Chinese officials have disputed that Covid-19 could have leaked from its labs, among them the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products.
According to the initial US 2021 intelligence report, Covid-19 first circulated in Wuhan, China, no later than November 2019, when three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology reportedly involved in coronavirus research were sick enough to seek hospital care.
Continued here:
Covid-19 likely came from lab leak, says news report citing US energy ...
- Coronavirus: over 70% of critical care patients in UK are men - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Cholera and coronavirus: why we must not repeat the same mistakes - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- 'If your child is hungry, you will eat your rulers to feed your children' - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Millions Had Risen Out of Poverty. Coronavirus Is Pulling Them Back. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Where did it go wrong for the UK on coronavirus? - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Potential coronavirus vaccine being tested in Germany could 'supply millions' by end of year - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- The pandemic and the influencer: will the lifestyle survive coronavirus? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Why Georgia Is Reopening Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Has Sweden's coronavirus strategy played into the hands of nationalists? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus memes: These AI-generated memes are better than ones created by humans - Vox.com [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus spares one neighborhood but ravages the next. Race and class spell the difference. - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Life in Trumps Coronavirus Ghetto - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- The Gates aren't pinning their coronavirus hopes on the U.S. - Politico [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- New Coronavirus Test Offers Advantages: Just Spit and Wait - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus is advancing in L.A., retreating in Bay Area - Los Angeles Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Trump Brings Religion Into the Coronavirus Culture War - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus in Chicago: How the mayor of the nation's 3rd-largest city is waging her biggest fight - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Number of coronavirus cases from second warship outbreak nears 100 as Navy restricts information on pandemic - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- We the People, in Order to Defeat the Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- How Coronavirus Mutates and Spreads - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus pandemic in the US: Live updates - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- The Coronavirus Still Is a Global Health Emergency, W.H.O. Warns - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- No leadership and no plan: is Trump about to fail the US on coronavirus testing? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Midwest: Coronavirus-Related Restrictions And Reopenings - NPR [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- How New Mexico Flattened the Coronavirus Curve - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Rashes, headaches, tingling: the less common coronavirus symptoms that patients have - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Survivors Want Answers, and China Is Silencing Them - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Coronavirus numbers explained: Why Odisha is seeing a spike in new cases - The Indian Express [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- New Studies Add to Evidence that Children May Transmit the Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- In the Fight to Treat Coronavirus, Your Lungs Are a Battlefield - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- New evidence indicates coronavirus was infecting people in Europe and the US before the first official cases were reported - CNN [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- How Will the Coronavirus Change Us? - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Coronavirus daily news updates, May 9: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the nation - Seattle Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Coronavirus threatens a guarded tradition for many black Americans: Voting in person - CNN [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Youll Probably Never Know If You Had the Coronavirus in January - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- What We Know About Coronavirus Mutations : Goats and Soda - NPR [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- US falls short in coronavirus testing in some areas of the country - CNN [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Three Children Have Died in N.Y. of Illness Linked to Virus: Live Updates - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Things feel so dark, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says on riots, coronavirus and Midland flooding - MLive.com [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Covid-19: will the governments mixed messages lead to another surge? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- The World Is Still Far From Herd Immunity for Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- How a decade of privatisation and cuts exposed England to coronavirus - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Teaching in the time of coronavirus: Finding creative ways to engage students - The San Diego Union-Tribune [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- These Athletes Had the Coronavirus. Will They Ever Be the Same? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Battered by Coronavirus Outbreak, NYC Finally Moves Toward Reopening - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus Showed How Globalization Broke the World - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- In Some Nations, Coronavirus Is Only One of Many Outbreaks - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus FAQs: Is It Safer To Fly Or Drive? Is Air Conditioning A Threat? - NPR [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus: The mystery of 'silent spreaders' - BBC News [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Utah sees another spike in coronavirus cases, third big day in a row - Salt Lake Tribune [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Its Not Whether You Were Exposed to the Coronavirus. Its How Much. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- A second wave of coronavirus: When it could come, how long it could last and more - CNET [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Growing Data Show Blacks And Latinos Bear The Brunt Of COVID-19 : Shots - Health News - NPR [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Minneapolis, the Coronavirus, and Trumps Failure to See a Crisis Coming - The New Yorker [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Utah is averaging more than 200 new coronavirus cases a day over the past week as hot spots flare up from Logan to St. George - Salt Lake Tribune [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Just 2.3% of new coronavirus test results in Wisconsin were positive the lowest on record - Green Bay Press Gazette [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus Testing: Should I Go For It Even If I Have No Symptoms? : Goats and Soda - NPR [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus in Florida: What you need to know Sunday, June 21 - TCPalm [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- ESPYS honoree Kim Clavel took a break from boxing to fight coronavirus - CNN [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Iceland now feels like the coronavirus never happened - CNN [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Lessons on Coronavirus Testing From the Adult Film Industry - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Pence Misleadingly Blames Coronavirus Spikes on Rise in Testing - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Putin has a 'disinfection tunnel,' Sweden feels isolated over coronavirus - CNBC [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Texas Governor Says 'No Reason Today To Be Alarmed' As Coronavirus Cases Set Record - NPR [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- What it means to come into close contact with a coronavirus case and your risk of infection - CNBC [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Coronavirus runs through crowded homes and must-do jobs, hitting people of color hard - San Francisco Chronicle [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- NJ hits top ranking in coronavirus analysis, showing positive trends and signs of hope - NorthJersey.com [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Coronavirus surges arent linked to one single cause - The Register-Guard [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Tens of thousands of Britons have died from coronavirus. But Boris Johnson is stoking a culture war. - CNN [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- High risk of coronavirus second wave as Australian shops and workplaces reopen, report says - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Florida sets another single-day coronavirus case record with nearly 4,000 infections - Tampa Bay Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- U.S. banks are 'swimming in money' as deposits increase by $2 trillion amid the coronavirus - CNBC [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Coronavirus shuts down Crowbar, the Orpheum and Skippers Smokehouse - Tampa Bay Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Global report: Trump says he ordered coronavirus testing to 'slow down' - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Russia reopens ahead of Victory Day and Putin referendum -- but coronavirus threat remains - CNN [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- In Beijing it looked like coronavirus was gone. Now we're living with a second wave - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Coronavirus Live News and Updates - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Flushing the Toilet May Fling Coronavirus Aerosols All Over - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 22nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 22nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus: What's happening around the world Monday - CBC.ca [Last Updated On: June 22nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 22nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus could die out on its own, according to Italian expert: Report - silive.com [Last Updated On: June 22nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 22nd, 2020]