NEW A lab leak is the most likely culprit for the COVID-19 respiratory illness that devastated the world, the U.S. Energy Department reportedly concluded.
Leaning on new intelligence, the department, which oversees numerous United States labs and research centers, made a judgment in"low confidence" that a lab leak is the most likely origin of the pandemic, per a classified intelligence analysis shared with the White House and Congress, the Wall Street Journal reported.The Energy Department joins the FBI in its conclusion, while four other agencies believe COVID-19 is most likely derived from natural transmission.
Specifics about the new intelligence that led to the Energy Department's shift remain unclear. Despite diverging perspectives between U.S. agencies, they appear to agree that COVID-19 did not derive from a Chinese biological weapons program, the report said. China has adamantly denied that the virus was the result of a lab leak and even promulgated theories that the United States was responsible for unleashing the brutal illness upon the world. Initially, the lab leak theory was deemed a conspiracy by some scientists but has gained some credibility in time since.
Public experts have given differing conclusions about where the virus came from. For example, Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield said it likely came from the lab, while Dr. Anthony Fauci concluded it was more likely from a natural occurrence.
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