The origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has now killed nearly 7 million people, remain shrouded in mystery. The latest classified report from the United States Department of Energy obtained by the Wall Street Journal newspaper has suggested that the virus was likely the result of a laboratory leak. This is in line with the conclusion of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who reached this judgement with “moderate confidence”.
However, the report also noted that four US intelligence agencies had “low confidence” that COVID-19 took place through natural transmission, while two others remain undecided. It also reaffirmed an existing consensus that COVID-19 was not the result of a Chinese biological weapons programme.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that President Joe Biden had specifically requested that the national labs, which are part of the Energy Department, be brought into this assessment to find out as much as possible about how the pandemic started.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) also promised to do everything possible “until we get the answer” on the origins of the virus. A WHO team travelled to Wuhan, China, in early 2021 to visit the Huanan market where the first cluster of cases emerged and which was closed and cleaned soon after the virus began to spread. Working alongside Chinese scientists, they also visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a biosecurity lab where researchers had been working on bats.
However, the investigation has been hampered by politics and a lack of access and transparency. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has insisted that all hypotheses remain on the table and called on China to provide further access to investigate.
Finding the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is seen as crucial in order to better fight or even prevent another pandemic. It is hoped that with more access and transparency, investigations into the origins of this virus can be conducted more effectively and accurately.