The White House today released an official statement asserting that the COVID-19 virus likely originated from a laboratory incident at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. The White House launched a new website to publish this assertion, providing evidence that supports the conclusion.
The website states that extensive scientific research failed to uncover definitive proof of a natural origin which strongly suggests the incident originated in a laboratory. According to scientific standards all evidence of a natural origin would have been discovered by now if it existed.
But it hasn’t,” the website states. Gain-of-function research inside a laboratory represents the probable source of COVID-19.
The U.S. government has made an announcement that represents an important change from their previous neutral position on COVID-19 origins. The lab leak hypothesis has shifted from being widely considered a conspiracy theory to garnering support through intelligence reports and scientists’ failure to pinpoint a natural animal host for the virus.
The White House recognized the continuing debate between the scientific and intelligence communities. It stated that several federal agencies now support the lab leak theory, while some others remain convinced of a zoonotic origin.
The statement drew attention to previous disputes and claims that the Biden administration had pressured social media platforms to restrict discussions of the lab leak theory during the pandemic. The White House pointed to a joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Chinese scientists that left the origin of SARS-CoV-2 uncertain but suggested it probably came from animals.
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Earlier intelligence reports became the White House’s defense against the lab leak theory accusations, including a State Department memo from 2020 and a classified Defense Department intelligence analysis that both indicated a possible lab escape incident.
The CIA’s new evaluation, which now considers the lab origin scenario as the “most likely” possibility, strengthens the White House stance.
The new White House website reveals how the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was involved in a long-term strategy of delay and confusion to prevent investigations into the pandemic response of senior health officials.
The findings from the House Oversight Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic’s two-year investigation play a crucial role in the White House’s position.
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The report accused Dr. Peter Daszak of EcoHealth Alliance, who worked with the Wuhan Institute of Virology on coronavirus research with U.S. taxpayer dollars, of lying to the committee about how the virus started. The report raised concerns that Dr. Daszak, together with former top U.S. health official Anthony Fauci, might have given false testimony to Congress, which could constitute perjury.
The White House’s official approval of the lab leak theory about COVID-19 origins will trigger additional debate and strengthen demands for transparency and accountability. The future impact of this situation on U.S.-China relations and scientific research collaborations has yet to become clear.
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