US report on COVID-19 origins dismisses arguments by lab leak conspiracy theorists

U.S. officials released an intelligence report Friday that rejected some points raised by those who argue COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab, inste reiterating that American spy ncies remain divided over how pandemic began.

report was issued at behest of Congress, which in March passed a bill giving U.S. intelligence 90 days to declassify intelligence related to Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Intelligence officials under President Joe Biden have been pushed by lawmakers to release more material about origins of COVID-19. But y have repeatedly argued China’s official obstruction of independent reviews has me it perhaps impossible to determine how pandemic began.

newest report angered some Republicans who have argued ministration is wrongly withholding classified information and researchers who accuse U.S. of t being forthcoming.

John Ratcliffe, who served as U.S. director of national intelligence under former President Donald Trump, accused Biden ministration of “continued obfuscation.”

“ lab leak is only ory supported by science, intelligence, and common sense,” Ratcliffe said in a statement.

re was newfound interest from researchers following revelation earlier this year that Department of Energy’s intelligence arm h issued a report arguing for a lab-related incident.

But Friday’s report said intelligence community has t gone furr. Four ncies still believe virus was transferred from animals to humans, and two ncies — Energy Department and FBI — believe virus leaked from a lab. CIA and ar ncy have t me an assessment.

Located in city where pandemic is believed to have began, Wuhan Institute of Virology has faced intense scrutiny for its previous research into bat coronaviruses and its reported security lapses.

A hospital room for a COVID-19 patient at Salem Hospital in Salem, Oregon. (Im: AP)

lab genetically engineered viruses as part of its research, report said, including efforts to combine different viruses.

But report says U.S. intelligence “has information, however, indicating that any WIV genetic engineering work has involved SARS-CoV-2, a close progenitor, or a backbone virus that is closely-related eugh to have been source of pandemic.”

And reports of several lab researchers falling ill with respiratory symptoms in fall 2019 are also inconclusive, report argues.

U.S. intelligence, report said, “continues to assess that this information neir supports r refutes eir hyposis of pandemic’s origins because researchers’ symptoms could have been caused by a number of diseases and some of symptoms were t consistent with COVID-19.”

Responding to report, Republican chairs of House Intelligence Committee and a select subcommittee on pandemic jointly said y h gared information in favor of lab leak hyposis. Reps. Mike Turner and Br Wenstrup, both of Ohio, credited U.S. Office of Director of National Intelligence for taking a “promising step toward transparency.”

“While we appreciate report from ODNI, corroboration of all available evidence along with furr investigation into origins of COVID-19 must continue,” Turner and Wenstrup said.

But Alina Chan, a molecular biologist who has long argued virus may have originated in Wuhan lab, ted public version of report did t include names of researchers who fell sick or or details mandated by Congress.

bill requiring review allowed intelligence officials to redact information publicly to protect ncy sources and methods.

“It’s getting very difficult to believe that government is t trying to hide what y kw about #OrigifCovid when you see a report like this that contains ne of requested info,” Chan tweeted.