WASHINGTON – President Biden’s top intelligence chiefs have yet to determine how humans first became infected with COVID-19, but they say they have not ruled out the possibility that it escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
“It is absolutely accurate that the intelligence community does not know exactly where, when or how the COVID-19 virus was initially transmitted,” National Intelligence Director Avril Haines told lawmakers on Wednesday during a hearing on the intelligence committee of the Senate.
‘Basically put components together around two alternative theories. These scenarios are that it naturally stems from contact with people with infected animals or that it was a laboratory accident, ‘she said in response to a question from the committee’s vice-chair, Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
“This is where we are at the moment, but we continue to work on this issue and gather information and do the best we can to give you more confidence in what the scenario is,” Haines said.
The possibility that Chinese scientists could inadvertently allow a natural sample of the virus to escape from the laboratory for coronaviruses for public health purposes was a theory first raised during the Trump administration. President Donald Trump’s attempts to blame China for spreading the virus, damaging and appearing racist and ideologically biased, led to the theory being quickly politicized. It was also combined with an alternative theory, refuted by scientists and ruled out by the intelligence community, that the virus could be a bioweapon.
Despite the controversy, since last year, the intelligence community has weighed the possibility, even if scientifically unlikely, of a laboratory accident. Haines’ testimony Wednesday is the clearest and most public confirmation to date of the ongoing investigation by the intelligence community into this theory.
CIA Director William Burns, a former diplomat, said he agreed with Haines and also criticized Beijing for its lack of transparency.
“The one thing that is clear to us and our analysts is that the Chinese leadership was not fully present or fully transparent to deal with the [World Health Organization] or by providing the kind of original complete data that would help answer the questions, ”he said on Wednesday. “We are doing everything we can, and using all the resources we all have available in this panel, to try to reach the bottom of it.”
The intelligence community was first called in to help track down the foreign response to the virus and its origins in the winter of 2019-20 amid concerns that Chinese officials would not get over the spread of the disease and not was immediately receptive to foreign researchers, including from the WHO on a trip to Wuhan to investigate. The U.S. intelligence community, which relies on information gathered from military communications channels, noted that Chinese officials are discussing plans to make sure the government can function despite a crisis.
The Chinese government’s attempt to halt outside investigations is one of the reasons why the possibility of a laboratory accident is still being considered.
A number of scientists dispute or doubt the laboratory accident theory, but there is a growing consensus on the need for a more detailed investigation into the origins of the pandemic to prevent the next outbreak.
A group of scientists and skeptics published a letter in the New York Times on April 7 demanding “further investigations” into the origins of the pandemic criticizing the lack of a “robust process” for investigations, which may hinder future strategies for the prevention and response of pandemics. ”
While former senior Trump officials have publicly discussed the laboratory accident theory on several occasions, Biden’s own top advisers, including Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, have also criticized the WHO’s investigation into the origins of the pandemic.
If COVID-19 did escape from a laboratory, it would probably be impossible to find a bell-ringer from China, or any other proof from those who were aware of or involved in the accident. More than a year after the first reported cases of COVID-19, it may be impossible to obtain such information.
However, answering as many of these questions as possible will be important in determining what you need to focus on to prevent the next pandemic, from raising laboratory safety standards to faster exchanging information on initial cases.
According to the intelligence community’s recently published global trend report, the threat of disease and pandemics will continue in the future. “We must expect the unexpected,” the report said, “and apply the lessons of this pandemic to our trade in the future.”
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