WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Republicans on the House of Representatives Committee investigating the origins of the coronavirus said they believe the pandemic likely came from a lab leak, according to a report they released on Monday.
“The weight of the evidence increasingly supports the lab leak hypothesis,” the report said.
The report said the likely source of the novel coronavirus was the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. In a hearing last month, Democrats said they weren’t convinced.
“We’ve now spent the better part of four years talking about COVID origins. I don’t think we ever get to the bottom of that,” said Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.).
Separately, when he took office, President Joe Biden asked federal agencies to investigate how the pandemic started. A report released in June 2023 said the National Intelligence Council and four other agencies said COVID likely started when a person was infected by an animal.
The Department of Energy and the FBI said the first person was likely infected because of a lab leak. The CIA said it couldn’t decide.
“I would urge us, as Congress, and the country to just accept both as plausible theories,” Bera said.
The report also examined whether the U.S. was ready for a pandemic and whether they’re prepared for the next one. House investigators said the U.S. relies too much on countries like China and South Korea for medicine and medical supplies.
Scientists said they may never know for sure how the coronavirus pandemic began.