US Intelligence final report

National Intelligence Officer for Weapons of Mass Destruction and Proliferation My impressions Many potential incriminating details from WIV are given Report then systematically tries to downplay the evidence IC genuinely does not know a lot of specifics Background Late March, US Congress, unanimously passed a law Everything US intelligence held on coronavirus origins must be made public. Public Law America’s director of National Intelligence Presidential backed order declassify and make public all information relating to the origins of Covid-19 All 18 agencies, within 90 days. (5 days late) A classified annex to this report includes information that was necessary to exclude from the unclassified portion of this report All agencies continue to assess that both a natural and laboratory-associated origin remain plausible hypotheses to explain the first human infection. Coronavirus research In 2013, the WIV collected animal samples from which they identified the bat coronavirus Variations in IC analytic views The National Intelligence Council the initial human infection with SARS-CoV-2 most likely was caused by natural exposure to an infected animal that carried SARS-CoV-2 or a close progenitor, a virus that probably would be more than 99 percent similar to SARS- CoV-2. The Department of Energy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation a laboratory-associated incident was the most likely cause of the first human infection with SARS-CoV-2 Most agencies assess that SARS-CoV-2 was not laboratory-adapted; some are unable to make a determination. All IC agencies assess that SARS-CoV-2 was not developed as a biological weapon. WIV ACTIVITIES PERFORMED WITH OR ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY WIV personnel have worked with scientists associated with the PLA on public health-related research and collaborated on biosafety and biosecurity projects. Information available to the IC indicates that some of the research conducted by the PLA and WIV included work with several viruses, including coronaviruses, but no known viruses that could plausibly be a progenitor of SARS-CoV-2. For example, PLA researchers have used WIV laboratories for virology and vaccine-related work. Between 2017 and 2019, the WIV funded and conducted research projects to enhance China’s knowledge of pathogens and early disease warning capabilities for defensive and biosecurity needs of the military. WIV collaborated with the PLA on other vaccine and therapeutics relevant to coronaviruses. CORONAVIRUS RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES PERFORMED AT THE WIV We assess WIV scientists conducted extensive research on coronaviruses, which included animal sampling and genetic analysis. No any direct evidence that a specific research-related incident occurred involving WIV personnel before the pandemic that could have caused the COVID pandemic. WIV Coronavirus Research and Holdings The WIV probably maintains one of the world’s largest repositories of bat samples, which has enabled its coronavirus research WIV first possessed SARS-CoV-2 in late December 2019, when WIV researchers isolated and identified the virus from samples from patients diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown causes. Since 2019, some WIV researchers analyzed pangolin samples to better understand disease outbreaks in these animals. By the end of 2019, the WIV maintained distinct teams focused on MERS and SARS-related coronaviruses. Both teams separately used transgenic mouse models to better understand how the viruses infect humans Not mentioned Only one focus of outbreak No animal intermediate identified Poor WHO visits WIV may have begun developing two Covid vaccines in November 2019 (Prior to 8th December 2018) U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan An increase in adult Influenza-Like-Illness (ILI) October to November 2019 (accompanied by negative results) statistically significantly higher than reported in the previous 5 years “By mid-October 2019, the dedicated team at the U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan knew that the city had been struck by what was thought to be an unusually vicious flu season. The disease worsened in November.” China CDC None of the samples taken from the 18 animal species found in the market were positive for SARS- CoV-2. EcoHealth Alliance and NIH funding EcoHealth Alliance with the WIV, Project DEFUSE: Defusing the Threat of Bat-borne Coronaviruses Mid-October to mid-November 2019 WIV collected 20,000 bat and animal samples by 2019, but did not disclose all of the viruses Before 2019, the WIV published sequences in a public database, taken offline in September 2019