The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States has said that origin of COVID-19 was “more likely” from a lab-related incident than natural transmission through animals. Trump administration seems to be pushing the same theory by dedicating a whole page to it on the White House website.

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The page reiterates the findings shared in the 520-page report from December 2024, which concluded that the coronavirus likely leaked from a Chinese laboratory following a two-year-long investigation into the outbreak that killed 1.1 million Americans. 

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Interestingly, the page suggesting that COVID-19 originated in a Chinese lab surfaces amid the on-going trade tensions with between the two biggest economies of the world. This highlights that the White House is taking a political stance against China as the trade war unleashed by US President Donald Trump rages.

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It is not clear which date the webpage appeared on the White House website.

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The webpage reads: “‘The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2’ publication — which was used repeatedly by public health officials and the media to discredit the lab leak theory — was prompted by Dr. Fauci to push the preferred narrative that COVID-19 originated naturally.”

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Dr Anthony S Fauci, who was accused of a wide range of misdeeds linked to the debate over the origin of the pandemic, was pardoned by former president Joe Biden before he left the office.

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Origin of COVID-19

The webpage lists 5 key points, suggesting the origins of COVID-19 were not natural:

1. The virus possesses a biological characteristic that is not found in nature.

2. According to the data, all cases of COVID-19 stem from a single introduction into humans, which is contrary to previous pandemics, where there were multiple spillover events.

3. Wuhan is home to China’s foremost SARS research lab, which has a history of conducting gain-of-function research (gene altering and organism supercharging) without adequate biosafety.

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4. The researchers at Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) were sick with COVID-like symptoms in the fall of 2019, months before COVID-19 was discovered at the wet market.

5. By nearly all measures of science, any evidence suggesting a natural origin of coronavirus would have already surfaced. But it hasn’t.