US Likely Unable to Reach Conclusion on Reinvestigation of COVID-19 Origin in China

President Biden Orders 90-Day Review but No Progress Made
US Intelligence Agencies Also Struggle Without Clear Solutions

The World Health Organization (WHO) investigation team, which visited Wuhan, Hebei Province, China to uncover the origin of COVID-19, arrived at the Wuhan Institute of Virology last February.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] There are prospects that the 90-day review on the origin of COVID-19, ordered by U.S. President Joe Biden to intelligence agencies, will conclude without a definitive outcome.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 27th (local time), citing anonymous government officials, that intelligence agencies have not secured decisive evidence on whether COVID-19 originated from contact between animals and humans or leaked from a Chinese virus laboratory.

President Biden is expected to receive an interim report on the supplementary investigation ordered for 90 days around mid-next month.

An official explained that although President Biden is aware that a clear answer may not be obtained even after the 90-day investigation, he is determined to conduct the investigation without being constrained by time.

In the review results reported to President Biden in early May, one intelligence agency concluded that the virus leaked from a laboratory, two agencies diagnosed it as a natural occurrence, and other agencies stated that there was no concrete evidence to reach a conclusion. Accordingly, President Biden ordered an additional 90-day review.

The current review is being led by Avril Haines, former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). However, since the task of investigating the origin of a pandemic is unfamiliar to intelligence agencies, it has become a challenging endeavor.

With China blocking data provision on the Wuhan Virus Laboratory, it is difficult for the U.S. to make progress in the investigation. For this reason, the U.S. side has been continuously requesting China’s cooperation for further investigation, but China has not responded.

Afterward, President Biden pressured China to cooperate with the investigation into the origin of COVID-19 during a press conference following the recent Group of Seven (G7) summit held earlier this month.

The theory that COVID-19 originated from a Chinese laboratory has not easily disappeared. Recently, controversy arose when it was revealed that China demanded the deletion of the COVID-19 genetic sequence database (DB) held by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.