Growing public support to the scientific community for exploring virus might emerge Wuhan Institute of Virology

The lab leak theory was largely sidelined in public scientific debate in the early days of the outbreak, after the first cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus was confirmed in the central Chinese city in late 2019.

The February report said it was “likely to very likely” the virus emerged through a natural zoonotic, or animal-to-human, transmission while concluding the theory it accidentally leaked from a lab was “extremely unlikely”. China has repeatedly denied the lab was responsible for leaking the virus.

Virologists and scientists in relevant fields who acknowledge the possibility the virus could have leaked from a lab in Wuhan, and support a full, transparent investigation, differ greatly in how likely they consider either scenario.

Nevertheless, the recent shift in perspective includes the US government’s top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, who last year largely dismissed the idea, saying the science “strongly indicates” that the virus emerged naturally.

A public statement detailing US intelligence community thinking and calling for further investigation