White House supports Wuhan lab leak theory on COVID website

The Trump administration has overhauled the federal COVID-19 portal, COVID.gov, redirecting it to a new site that prominently promotes the theory that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. The updated website replaces previous public health resources such as vaccine, testing, and treatment information with arguments supporting the lab leak hypothesis, while criticizing figures like Dr. Anthony Fauci and President Joe Biden for allegedly promoting the natural-origin theory. The site cites features of the virus, the location of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and reports of early illnesses among researchers as evidence for the lab leak theory, despite acknowledgment from scientists and a 2023 US intelligence review that no conclusive proof exists for either origin scenario. The lab leak theory, once widely dismissed, has gained some traction among US intelligence agencies and in political discourse, though the scientific community continues to support the likelihood of a natural spillover event. The change has also drawn criticism from China, which maintains that a laboratory origin is 'extremely unlikely' and accuses the US of politicizing the investigation. The origins of COVID-19 remain unresolved, with ongoing debate and insufficient definitive evidence to confirm either hypothesis.