US Energy Department Says This Was The Likely Chinese Source Of COVID-19 Pandemic: Report

The U.S. Energy Department has concluded that a Chinese lab leak was the most likely cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to a classified intelligence analysis shared with the White House and Congress, the Energy Department judged with "low confidence" that a lab leak is the most likely origin of the pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Energy Department had previously been undecided on the source of the virus, but with the new intelligence report, it has shared that the primary cause was likely a laboratory leak. 

In 2021, the FBI came to the conclusion with “moderate confidence” that the virus likely spread via a mishap at a Chinese laboratory. 

The report mentioned that other agencies and a national intelligence panel still judge that the COVID-19 outbreak was likely the result of natural transmission.

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The National Intelligence Council, and four other agencies, still assess with "low confidence" that the virus came about through natural transmission from an infected animal, reports WSJ. 

"Kudos to those who are willing to set aside their preconceptions and objectively re-examine what we know and don't know about Covid origins," said David Relman, a Stanford University microbiologist, according to WSJ. 

"My plea is that we not accept an incomplete answer or give up because of political expediency," he added. 

"The Energy Department continues to support the thorough, careful, and objective work of our intelligence professionals in investigating the origins of COVID-19, as the president directed," the agency spokesman told WSJ. 

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