Covid bioweapon claims ‘scientifically invalid’, US intelligence reports

ODNI reject bioweapons claims but says origins of virus may never be known, barring dramatic breakthrough in Chinese cooperation

Allegations that the Covid-19 virus was designed as a bioweapon - a theory aired by some senior Republicans - are based on scientifically invalid claims" whose proponents are suspected of spreading disinformation", the US intelligence agencies have reported.

Most of the 17 US agencies also agree that the virus had not been genetically engineered, while observing it is becoming increasingly difficult to detect signs of such tampering. However, the intelligence community is still divided on the question of whether the virus was spread by animal-to-human transmission or as the result of a lab accident, concluding that that may never be known barring a dramatic breakthrough in Chinese cooperation.