House Foreign Affairs Committee Reveals Latest on COVID-19 Origin Probe

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) released a report on the COVID-19 pandemic's origins Monday, alleging that China concealed COVID-19's leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in 2019. McCaul, the House Foreign Affairs Committee's ranking member, says China is guilty of the "greatest coverup of all time". Many health experts and scientists in the U.S. continue to stress that the theory that a Chinese laboratory leak set off the pandemic remains unlikely, though warrants further investigation. The House report states that "the preponderance of the evidence proves the virus did leak from the WIV and that it did so sometime before September 12, 2019." It highlights "the sudden removal of the WIV’s virus and sample database" on that date, as well as "unusually scheduled maintenance at the WIV," as evidence of the lab leak theory. The theory was dismissed as a conspiracy in early 2020 by many public health officials, Democratic leaders and mainstream media sources.

The report was covered prominently by many right-rated outlets; their coverage often painted the report as credible and "damning." No left-rated outlets had published original coverage of the report as of Monday afternoon; The Hill was one of the few center-rated outlets to cover the story.