Energy Dept Has “Low Confidence” In Lab Leak Theory

Axios reports:

A new U.S. government assessment that COVID-19 likely originated from a lab leak in China has ignited yet another round of political furor around the issue, adding to many Republicans’ anger over how the pandemic was handled even as many scientists remain convinced the virus most likely originated naturally. Department of Energy scientists concluded in a “low confidence” assessment that COVID-19 most likely arose from a laboratory leak, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The department was previously undecided on a cause, and the new report underscored how American intelligence is split over the answer.

Read the full article.

The same people who shamed us, canceled us, & wanted to put us in jail for saying covid came from the Wuhan Lab, not wearing masks and saying masks don’t work, and taking and recommending ivermectin to treat covid are starting to say what we said all along.
Now do covid vaccines.

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene?? (@RepMTG) February 26, 2023

Re. China’s lab leak, being proven right doesn’t matter.

What matters is holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable so this doesn’t happen again.

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) February 26, 2023

First of all, I have no idea what this evidence that DOE has is. All I know that it is “weak” and resulted in a conclusion of “low confidence”. It reportedly comes from the DOE’s own network of national labs rather than through spying. pic.twitter.com/dQAH7DuCMF

— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) February 26, 2023

Despite 3 years of a global search for this evidence, it has not materialized, while evidence supporting zoonosis associated with Huanan has continued to stack up.

At some point, an absence of evidence might just be evidence of absence.

— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) February 26, 2023

But for now, I see no evidence that suggests the current scientific evidence base is incorrect. And that evidence base continues to suggest the pandemic originated via zoonotic spillover at the Huanan market, in association with the live animal trade.

— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) February 26, 2023