Scientific and political debates have swirled around the origins of SARS-CoV-2 since the pandemic began, and a Department of Energy report concluding with “low confidence” that the virus accidentally spilled from a lab only fanned the flames instead of settling the debate. The US intelligence community is split on the topic, but many scientists who have studied the pandemic’s origin — including some who urged investigation of the lab leak theory — say that ample scientific evidence suggests SARS-CoV-2 arose naturally in an animal and spilled over to humans.
