COVID-19 Wasn’t Developed as a Bioweapon, U.S. Intelligence Concludes
The determination was made in a newly declassified report.
Saul Loeb/Getty
COVID-19 was not produced as a biological weapon, according to an Office of the Director of National Intelligence and National Security Council report declassified and published Friday. The assessment was made as part of an investigation into the virus’ origins ordered by President Joe Biden. Some of the report’s contents had previously been made public. The report, based on a 90-day review, says it’s unlikely the origin of COVID-19 will ever be definitely determined, as analysts say “that a natural origin and a laboratory associated incident are both plausible hypotheses.” However, most analysts “assess with low confidence” that the virus wasn’t genetically engineered, the report says. The intelligence community does not believe the Chinese had prior knowledge of the virus, regardless of its origins, according to the report.
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