By Erin Banco
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Central Intelligence Agency has determined that the COVID-19 pandemic “more likely” originated in a laboratory than in nature, an agency spokesman said on Saturday.
The agency had said for years that it could not determine whether COVID-19 was the result of a laboratory event or originated in nature. But in the final weeks of the Biden administration, former CIA Director William Burns urged CIA analysts and scientists to make a clear decision, emphasizing the historic significance of the pandemic, according to a senior U.S. official.
The CIA says it has “low confidence” in its assessment that a “research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely,” noting in its statement that both scenarios – laboratory origin and natural origin – remain plausible.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It was unclear to what extent the agency had gathered new information about the origins of COVID-19 and whether that new evidence was used to formulate the latest assessment.
China’s government says it has supported and participated in investigations to determine the origin of COVID-19, accusing Washington of politicizing the issue, particularly due to investigative efforts by U.S. intelligence agencies.
Beijing has said claims that a laboratory leak likely caused the pandemic are not credible.
In an interview with Breitbart after his confirmation by the U.S. Senate on Friday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said one of his first priorities would be to have his agency conduct a public assessment of the origins of the pandemic.
“This is a day one thing for me,” he said. “As you know, I have gone on record saying that I think our intelligence, our science and our common sense all really dictate that the origins of COVID have been leaked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”
