President Joe Biden directed U.S. intelligence agencies on Wednesday to deepen their probe into the origins of COVID-19, stressing that his administration takes seriously the possibility of an accidental lab leak.
As nations ease pandemic restrictions after more than a year, a key question lingers: Where did the coronavirus originate? Once dismissed, the lab-leak theory has gained renewed traction following a Wall Street Journal report.
Published May 23 and drawing on Trump-era intelligence documents, the article revealed that three Wuhan lab researchers were hospitalized in November 2019—just before the outbreak—with symptoms "consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses."
U.S. intelligence agencies had not previously shared this information, complicating verification.
Earlier, a WHO team in Wuhan deemed a lab leak "highly unlikely," favoring transmission via an intermediate animal host from a reservoir species.
Yet experts widely criticized China's interference in that probe. The WHO findings prompted scientists to push back.
“When I read this, I was very frustrated,” said Yale immunologist Akiko Iwasaki. She co-authored a letter in Science urging more evidence before ruling out natural spillover or lab accident.
“This is a critical unanswered question needing rigorous investigation,” she added. President Biden concurs.
In March, Biden requested an internal origins assessment. Delivered two weeks ago, it showed no agency consensus. With China resisting WHO cooperation, Biden ordered agencies to ramp up intelligence collection and analysis. A report is due in 90 days.
China's officials remain defensive. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian recently sidestepped deeper WHO access and revived unfounded claims of a U.S. military lab origin.
“China has approached origin-tracing responsibly and earned wide recognition,” he said. “If the U.S. wants transparency, it should invite WHO experts here.”
