Since COVID-19 first took off, political leaders, infectious disease specialists, and the lay public have debated its origins. Eventually, two hypotheses emerged: Either the virus crossed over from animals to humans in a wet market in Wuhan—the city in which the disease first appeared—or it leaked from a Chinese lab,

Langley joins the FBI and Energy Department in agreeing that a lab leak is the most likely source of the pandemic.

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 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 intelligence agency says it has a “low confidence” in its new finding, but this is further than it has ever gone in pinpointing the origin of a virus that killed millions worldwide.

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 on Saturday offered a new assessment on the origin of the Covid outbreak, saying the coronavirus is "more likely" to have leaked from a Chinese lab than to have come from animals. But the intelligence agency cautioned it had "low confidence" in this determination.

Backs Lab Leak Theory for COVID-19, but Confidence Remains Low By India Edwards HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, (HealthDay News) -- After years of speculation, the CIA has weighed in yet again: A lab leak is now considered the likely origin of the COVID pandemic.

China says it's "extremely unlikely" that COVID-19​ came from a lab, after the CIA said it believed​, though with low confidence, that it did, rather than from natural transmission.