The COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023 told the U.S. Intelligence Community to declassify information relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. A summary of that information was recently released by the US government. It came from the Intelligence Community rather than scientists…  so take that into consideration as you read the report.

Report on Potential Links Between the Wuhan Institute of Virology-& COVID-19

There are several sources of Intelligence in the report including the FBI, CIA and many others. Each agency takes a different take on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those differences “… stem from differences in how agencies weigh intelligence reporting, scientific publications, intelligence and data gaps.”  

The FBI & the Department of Energy think the virus originated via a laboratory-associated incident. The National Intelligence Council and four other intelligence agencies think SARS-CoV-2 was most likely caused by natural exposure to an infected animal.

The CIA was “… unable to determine the precise origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, as both hypotheses rely on significant assumptions or face challenges with conflicting reporting”.

Almost all the intelligence agencies assessed that SARS-CoV-2 was not genetically engineered and that “… both a natural and laboratory-associated origin remain plausible hypotheses to explain the first human infection”.

We’ll probably never really find out the real answer as to the origin of the virus in part because the Chinese Government has been unwilling to fully cooperate with a full investigation of the origin of the virus.