Biden asks intel to probe COVID-19 origins

WASHINGTON DC (Agencies): President Biden on Wednesday asked the intelligence community to “redouble” their efforts to “collect and analyze” information that could bring the U.S. closer to a “definitive conclusion” on the origins of COVID-19, saying U.S. intelligence officials are currently torn between “two likely scenarios.”

The president, on Wednesday, said that when COVID-19 emerged in early 2020, he, as a candidate, called for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “to get access to China to learn about the virus so we could fight it more effectively.”
“The failure to get our inspectors on the ground in those early months will always hamper any investigation into the origin of COVID-19,” Biden said.

“Nevertheless, shortly after I became President, in March, I had my National Security Advisor task the Intelligence Community to prepare a report on their most up-to-date analysis of the origins of COVID-19, including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident,” Biden said, noting that he received that report earlier this month, and asked for “additional follow-up.”

“As of today, the U.S. Intelligence Community has ‘coalesced around two likely scenarios’ but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question,” Biden explained. “Here is their current position: ‘wh-ile two elements in the IC leans toward the former sc-enario and one leans more toward the latter – each with low or moderate confidence – the majority of el-ements do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.’”

“I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday.

“As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China.” Biden added that he has also asked that the effort include work by “our National Labs and other agencies of our government to augment the Intelligence Community’s efforts.”

“And I have asked the Intelligence Community to keep Congress fully apprised of its work,” Biden said Wednesday.

“The United States will also keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence,” Biden said.

The Biden administration is calling for a transparent international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, with the White House calling for China and the World Health Organization to provide data and information necessary for U.S. officials to draw conclusions.

The White House has criticized the WHO and China for its “phase one” report for its lack of transparency. That report dismissed claims that COVID-19 had esca-ped from the lab in Wuhan, and called the theory of zo-onotic transmission, or tra-nsfer of infection from animals to humans, “likely to very likely.”