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CIA Now Backs Lab Leak Theory for COVID-19, But Confidence Remains Low

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 27, 2025.

By India Edwards HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Jan. 27, 2025 -- After years of speculation, the CIA has weighed in yet again: A lab leak is now considered the likely origin of the COVID pandemic.

However, the agency admits it has "low confidence" in its conclusion and says both a natural origin and a research-related incident are still possible.

“CIA assesses with low confidence that a research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting,” a CIA spokesperson said in a statement on Jan. 25. “CIA continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic remain plausible.”

The agency emphasized that this conclusion is not based on new intelligence but on a re-evaluation of existing information.

The review, ordered during the final weeks of the Biden administration, was completed before President Donald Trump’s inauguration, a source told NBC News.

For years, U.S. intelligence agencies have speculated how and where the pandemic began. And while the FBI and the U.S. Energy Department have said it likely owed to a lab leak, other agencies have maintained that human exposure to an infected animal was the most likely culprit.

The CIA had remained neutral until now. But newly appointed CIA Director John Ratcliffe approved the agency's recent assessment. ending the years-long neutral stance.

Ratcliffe, who served as director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, has publicly supported the lab leak theory.

“I’ve been on record, as you know, in saying I think our intelligence, our science, and our common sense all really dictates that the origins of COVID was a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Ratcliffe told Breitbart News in an interview after his confirmation last week. “But the CIA has not made that assessment or at least not made that assessment publicly. So I’m going to focus on that and look at the intelligence and make sure that the public is aware that the agency is going to get off the sidelines.”

China has denied the lab leak theory, accusing the U.S. of spreading false allegations and attempting to “smear” Beijing.

The COVID-19 virus was first identified in Wuhan in 2019, and Chinese officials maintain that they have been transparent about the outbreak.

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted January 2025

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