Washington, Oct. 30 (BUS) – Barring an unexpected hack, intelligence agencies will not be able to determine whether COVID-19 was spread by animal-to-human transmission or leaked from a lab, officials said Friday in a full version of. The Associated Press (AP) reported on their review of the origins of the pandemic.
The paper released by the Director of National Intelligence details the findings released in August of a 90-day review ordered by President Joe Biden. That review said US intelligence agencies were divided over the virus’ origins, but analysts do not believe the virus was developed as a biological weapon and most agencies believe the virus was not genetically modified.
China has resisted global pressure to cooperate fully with investigations into the epidemic or provide access to genetic sequences of coronaviruses preserved at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, whose research and reported safety problems remain speculative. Biden launched the review amid growing momentum for the theory – initially widely dismissed by experts – that the virus had leaked from a Wuhan lab. Former President Donald Trump and his supporters have long argued that a lab leak was possible because they sought to divert attention from criticism of his handling of the pandemic.
China remains a very difficult place for intelligence operations and has resisted allegations that it mishandled the emergence of the epidemic, which has killed 5 million people worldwide. Senior officials involved in drafting the full report said they hoped it would better inform the public about the challenges of determining the origin of the virus.
“We don’t think we’re one or two reports away from being able to understand it,” said one official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
The full report notes that the Wuhan Institute of Virology “previously created chimeras, or clusters, of SARS-like coronaviruses, but this information does not provide insight into whether SARS-Cov-2 was genetically engineered by WIV.”
The report said that information requested by laboratory researchers for medical treatment for a respiratory disease in November 2019 “does not diagnose the origins of the epidemic.”
The report said allegations that China released the virus as a biological weapon were dismissed because its supporters “do not have direct access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” make scientifically false claims or have been accused of spreading misinformation.
Four agencies within the intelligence community said with low confidence that the virus initially passed from animal to human. A fifth intelligence agency believed with moderate confidence that the first human infection was laboratory-related.
Prior to writing the report, the analysts conducted what the report describes as a “Team A/Team B” discussion to try to strengthen or weaken each hypothesis.
The report outlines the types of data investigators still want China to provide access to, including records and tissue samples from several markets in Wuhan, including Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, Qiyimen Live Animal Market, Dijiao Outdoor Pet Market and others. Scientists originally thought the virus emerged from animals sold in the Huanan market, which some have since dismissed as the site of origin.
Confirming with 100% certainty the origin of the virus is often not quick, easy, or always possible.
In the case of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS — a disease caused by a beta-coronavirus, like the current coronavirus — researchers first identified the virus in February 2003. Later that year, scientists discovered a possible intermediate host: the Himalayan civet. Live animal markets in Guangdong, China. But it wasn’t until 2017, that researchers traced the likely original source of the virus to bat caves in China’s Yunnan province.
AOQ