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(IANS)
The COVID-19 virus escaped from a Chinese lab, shows a new report by the US Department of Energy.
The classified information report was recently provided to key members of the White House and Congress, The Wall Street Journal reported.
It highlights how different intelligence agencies have reached different judgments about the origins of the pandemic.
The WSJ reported that the Department of Energy deemed it “unreliable,” according to a person who read the classified report.
Several agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), also agree with the lab leak claims.
In 2021, the FDA concluded with “medium confidence” that the pandemic was likely the result of the 2021 lab leak, and it still holds this view.
However, four other agencies and the National Intelligence Board have determined that it is likely the result of natural infection, leaving two undetermined.
The Department of Energy “continues to support the thorough, careful, and objective work of intelligence professionals to investigate the origins of COVID-19, as directed by the President,” the spokesperson said.
But officials declined to discuss the details of that assessment, the report said.
David Lerman, a microbiologist at Stanford University, welcomed the words of the latest findings, saying, “Put aside preconceived notions and look objectively at what we know and don’t know about the origins of COVID. Kudos to those who are willing to reconsider.
“My plea is not to accept incomplete answers or give them up for political convenience.
According to the US 2021 Intelligence Report, the COVID-19 virus first spread in Wuhan, China, by November 2019 at the latest.
More than two years after the pandemic, the origin of COVID-19 remains unclear.
It’s a political and scientific debate, with scientists and politicians all over the world claiming that the coronavirus jumped from bats to humans or escaped from a laboratory.
Meanwhile, China has imposed restrictions on investigations by the World Health Organization. It also disputes the Virology Institute’s leak theory, suggesting it originated outside of China.
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