COVID-19 Likely Originated in a Chinese Lab, Report Says

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In November of 2019, three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) laboratory in China are rushed to a hospital and treated. They had been researching viruses, particularly coronaviruses. Just 40-minutes from the institute, visitors of the Huanan wet market are experiencing the first outbreak.

According to the CDC, by December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization Country Office in China is notified of pneumonia in patients coming from an unknown pathogen. They’re informed the disease appears to be “connected to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.” The next day, the market is shut down.

At this time, WHO foresees the potential for an outbreak. So, on January 2, 2020, it activates its Incident Management Support Team (IMST) on all three levels. These include the Country Office, Regional Office and Headquarters.

Although WHO moves fast, its efforts are seemingly to be too late. On January 3, Chinese officials inform WHO they have identified at least 40 more cases. But a breakthrough happens on January 7, 2020, when public health officials in China identify the cause of the outbreak as a novel coronavirus.

Even with finding the cause of the outbreak, it continues to spread. By January 15, 2020, Japanese health officials confirm the disease’s presence in its country. This is the first proof the disease has spread outside of China’s borders. Just five days later, the CDC reports the first cases in America. The samples had been taken January 18, 2020, from patients in the state of Washington. The rest is history.

Subcommittee Confirms Chinese Lab Origin

In case you missed it, in December of 2024, after a 2-year investigation, “a House of Representatives committee investigating the COVID-19 pandemic… released a wide-ranging final report… concluding that SARS-CoV-2 did not originate naturally, as many scientists think, but likely leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China,” according to Science.org.

This finding is controversial, especially since the subcommittee consisted of only Republicans. They conducted over 30 interviews and various hearings. They also allegedly reviewed over a million pages of documents.

The panel heard viewpoints from scientists on both sides of the debate. Science.org notes, “… they grilled… Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), about his institute’s role in research some committee members think could have started the pandemic.”

In the subcommittee’s 520-page report, the Subcommittee offers circumstantial evidence rather than any new or direct evidence of their theory that the COVID-19 virus originated in a Chinese lab. It summarizes the case against the Wuhan Institute of Virology that it “[conducted] studies that modified distantly related coronaviruses.” Still, the conclusion is, the COVID-19 outbreak likely started in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The Takeaway

A Republican-led subcommittee in 2024 concluded the COVID-19 virus likely originated in a Wuhan Institute of Virology lab in China. Although they offer no new direct evidence to support this claim, they do offer some convincing circumstantial evidence. Some of this evidence includes witness statements. Additionally, the timeline of the initial hospitalization of the researchers from the Chinese institute and the outbreak align. There are some who disagree with the findings, but the evidence has convinced many others.

SUBSCRIBE to get updates on new articles and books. This article is 100% human-written. And remember, if you see an error, that’s what makes us human.