WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is asking U.S. intelligence agencies to “redouble” their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. After months of minimizing the possibility that the coronavirus emerged from a lab accident, the administration is responding to both U.S. and world pressure for China to be more open about the outbreak. Biden said Wednesday there is insufficient evidence to conclude “whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident.” Biden directed U.S. national laboratories to assist with the investigation and called on China to cooperate. He held out the possibility that a firm conclusion may never be known.
In this May 13, 2021 file photo, President Joe Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Biden is asking U.S. intelligence agencies to “redouble” their efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. After months of minimizing the possibility that the coronavirus emerged from a lab accident, the administration is responding to both U.S. and world pressure for China to be more open about the outbreak. Biden said Wednesday there is insufficient evidence to conclude “whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident.” (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
