US Intelligence Report Finds No Evidence Supporting Claims of Wuhan Lab Creating COVID-19
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Office of the US Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released a declassified report saying that they have no information proving recent allegations that scientists at the Wuhan lab were among the first to be infected with COVID-19 and potentially engineered the virus.
Based on intelligence gathered from various agencies within the US intelligence community (IC), the ODNI report acknowledges that some scientists at the Wuhan lab had conducted genetic engineering research on coronaviruses similar to COVID-19.
However, the report emphasizes that there is no information indicating that they specifically conducted such work on the COVID-19 virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, or any closely related virus that could have been the source of the pandemic.
The report, prepared for Congress and featuring a classified annex, comes in response to lawmakers' demands for a comprehensive explanation of US intelligence's findings regarding the origins of the pandemic, which emerged in late 2019.
Certain lawmakers have alleged that the virus was created through gain-of-function genetic engineering research in Wuhan and that the Chinese government covered up evidence suggesting it was a man-made disease.
Echoing a conclusion announced in March, the ODNI report states that "almost all" constituent agencies, including the NSA, CIA, and FBI, assess that COVID-19 was not genetically engineered and that it was unlikely to have been adapted in a laboratory.
However, the report, similar to the previous one in March, does not rule out the possibility that COVID-19 was being studied at the Wuhan lab and may have unintentionally leaked due to mishandling.
ODNI acknowledges that the intelligence community remains divided on whether the pandemic originated from a natural occurrence, such as zoonotic transmission from animals like bats, or from a laboratory leak.
The report acknowledges that the Wuhan lab engaged in pathogen research and vaccine development in collaboration with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to address public health needs.
However, the coronaviruses used in their research were determined to be too distantly related to have given rise to SARS-CoV-2, according to the report.
The report firmly rejects allegations that COVID-19 was developed as a bioweapon by the PLA.
Regarding claims that three scientists at the Wuhan lab fell ill with COVID-19 shortly before the outbreak, the ODNI report states that US intelligence found evidence that several Wuhan researchers experienced mild illness in the fall of 2019.
While some of their symptoms were consistent with COVID-19, others were not. The report also notes that US intelligence does not know if those who fell ill had direct contact with live viruses in their work.
The report concludes that the information available neither supports nor disproves either hypothesis regarding the origins of the pandemic, as the researchers' symptoms could have been caused by various diseases.
