A new classified report from the U. S. Department of EnergyThe U. S. government concluded with “little confidence” that it is credible that the COVID-19 pandemic originated from a lab leak, two resources from the U. S. government investigation told CBS News. The U. S. Department of Health and Prevention on the origins of the pandemic.
It’s unclear whether the Energy Department’s “low confidence” assessment reflected weak knowledge or the amount of information, but it revived an ongoing debate that continues to roil the political, clinical and intelligence communities.
The Energy Ministry report was recently shared with a limited number of lawmakers. The branch operates a network of national laboratories that includes some of the government’s top professional biologists interested in bioscience and biotechnology research.
Although the report is classified, the resources told CBS News it would likely be independent of a previous investigation through the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore Labs that pointed to a possible accidental leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about the report in an interview with CNN on Sunday, saying President Biden “specifically requested” that national laboratories be included in the assessment “because he needs to use all the equipment to be able to perceive what happened here. “. “
But he also noted that there were “a variety of perspectives in the intelligence community. “
“Some elements of the intelligence network have come to conclusions on one side, others on the other. Several of them said they just didn’t have enough data to be sure,” Sullivan said. “. . . If we get other data or data, the percentages with Congress and the percentages with the American people. But, for the moment, no definitive answer has emerged from the intelligence network on this issue. “
News of the Energy Department’s discovery was first reported via the Wall Street Journal.
While there is no consensus within the intelligence network on the origins of COVID-19, the FBI, which heads the WMD directorate, and the Department of Energy have uncovered a credible accidental lab leak, which adds to a circumstantial evidence framework. that happens to the Wuhan lab.
Other researchers say evidence indicates that a Wuhan market where live animals were sold was the early epicenter of the outbreak, the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, likely spread from bats to humans, either directly or through an animal host. . No animal resources shown have been identified.
A long-awaited intelligence investigation into the origins of COVID-19, ordered through President Biden and launched in 2021, was inconclusive. The intelligence network “remains divided on the maximum likely origin of COVID-19. All agencies that two hypotheses are plausible: herbal exposure to an inflamed animal and a laboratory-related incident,” the brief summary read.
A World Health Organization panel of experts said last year that “key data” for the start of the pandemic was still lacking. The firm recently closed a new phase of its clinical research due to a lack of cooperation from the Chinese. government.
Many experts have focused on highlighting vulnerabilities that persist and lack of meaningful action in the face of the threat of potential long-term outbreaks, whether occurring naturally or a lab leak.
– Catherine Herridge contributed to the report.