The Covid-19 virus most likely leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, a US Senate report has found.
Three years after Covid was first detected in Wuhan, scientists are still divided on whether it jumped from animals to humans at a wet market or leaked from a virus lab.
However, a 300-page Senate report has now concluded that the dominant theory that the virus jumped from animals to humans no longer deserves the “presumption of accuracy”.
The report, released in full by Axios, says: “The Covid-19 pandemic was, more likely than not, the result of a research-related incident.
“New information, made publicly available and independently verifiable, could change this assessment.
“However, the hypothesis of a natural zoonotic origin no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt, or the presumption of accuracy.”
It concludes that “the preponderance of information affirms the plausibility of a research-related incident that was likely unintentional resulting from failures of biosafety containment during vaccine-related research”.
The report said there were “anomalies” between Covid-19 and other diseases that have spilled over naturally from animals to humans.
It says critical evidence is yet to be found proving there was a natural spillover.
The report is the result of former Senator Richard Burr’s investigation into the origins of the pandemic as the minority leader of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
It comes after the FBI also assessed that a leak from a laboratory in Wuthan likely caused the Covid pandemic.
Agency director Christopher Wray said earlier this year: “The FBI has for some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.”
China denies the claims and says they have “no credibility whatsoever”.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the involvement of the US intelligence community was evidence of the “politicisation of origin tracing”.
She added: “We urge the US to respect science and facts.”
Mao insisted China had been “open and transparent” in the search for the pandemic origins and has “shared the most data and research results on virus tracing and made important contributions to global virus tracing research”.
