A recently declassified report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) states that US intelligence agencies have not uncovered conclusive evidence to support the theory that Covid-19 originated from a Chinese laboratory. The report highlights that both natural and laboratory origins are still considered possible scenarios.

It emphasizes that the majority of US intelligence agencies agree that the virus was not intentionally genetically modified or adapted in a lab setting. The origins of the pandemic have been a contentious subject of debate in the United States.

The report highlights that the US intelligence community cannot completely rule out the possibility of a laboratory origin for the virus. All US intelligence agencies concur that Covid-19 was not developed as a biological weapon.

While acknowledging collaboration between the WIV and the Chinese army on coronaviruses for public health purposes, the report states that such research did not involve infections that could plausibly give rise to Covid-19.

However, the report mentions that scientists at the WIV have conducted experiments involving "chimeras" or combinations of coronaviruses, as well as genetic cloning techniques that could conceal deliberate alterations. It also suggests that some researchers at the WIV may not have followed adequate biosafety measures prior to the pandemic.

Nevertheless, US intelligence does not possess specific information about a biosafety incident at the Wuhan lab that caused the outbreak of Covid-19, according to the report. While some researchers at the WIV fell ill in autumn of 2019, the report indicates that their illnesses could have been caused by various diseases, and not all of their symptoms were consistent with Covid-19.

Some experts argue that the true origins of Covid-19, which has resulted in the deaths of nearly seven million people worldwide, may never be definitively known. A joint investigation conducted by China and the World Health Organization in 2021 deemed the lab-leak theory "extremely unlikely." However, the report received criticism from many experts who believed it raised more questions than it answered.

Supporters of the lab-leak theory highlight the proximity of the WIV to the Huanan wet market, where the initial cluster of Covid infections emerged in late 2019, as a significant factor. Ratcliffe stated that the lab-leak theory is the only one supported by science, intelligence, and common sense, according to his statement.

John Ratcliffe, former US Director of National Intelligence under President Donald Trump, criticized the Biden administration, accusing them of "continued obfuscation" in response to the report.