It was unclear the extent to which the agency has collected new intelligence on COVID-19's origins and whether that new evidence was used to formulate the latest assessment.
The news comes after the CIA announced over the weekend that COVID-19 most likely originated from a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2020.
The Central Intelligence Agency with a "low confidence" has changed its stance and concluded that it's likely the COVI-19 virus was leaked from a Chinese lab before it became a global pandemic five years ago.
The CIA announced on Saturday that it now considers a lab leak a more likely origin for the COVID-19 pandemic than a natural transmission, although the agency maintains "low confidence" in this assessment.
The Central Intelligence Agency previously said that two explanations were plausible, a lab leak or a natural source for the virus. Yet under new agency director John Ratcliffe, the CIA has changed its view, which is now in line with that of the Department of Energy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The CIA says both a natural origin and a lab leak "remain plausible" as potential sources of covid-19, following a review of the pandemic's origins.
Missouri is suing China for its role in the COVID-19 pandemic, Attorney General Andrew Bailey says.Bailey is preparing for the trial on Monday, January 27 at 2 p.m. It’ll be held at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau,
China’s oyster imports softened significantly in 2024, particularly hurting the nation’s key supplier: France. Official customs data shows China imported 1,570 metric tons (MT) of oysters last year, down on the 2,090 MT imported the year before and down even more than the 2,130 MT China bought in 2022.
The CIA says it has "low confidence" in its assessment that a "research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely."
The Central Intelligence Agency said the Covid-19 pandemic “more likely” originated from a lab leak than a natural source, shifting its stance after previously saying both scenarios were possible.
The CIA investigated the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, and determined, with low confidence, the origin was likely a lab leak in China.