The Central Intelligence Agency said COVID-19 likely originated from a lab leak in China in a Saturday statement, pivoting from a previously neutral stance just a few days after Director John Ratcliffe was sworn in,

The CIA says it has "low confidence" in its assessment that a "research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely."

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.