Tunne Kelam ⟩ Report by US Congress select subcommittee confirms: the coronavirus originated in Chinese laboratories

Wuhan Institute of Virology. Photo: Ng Han Guan / AP Photo: Ng Han Guan / AP

• The arguments for the natural origin of COVID-19 have nearly disappeared.
• Anthony Fauci led determined efforts to discredit the lab-leak theory.
• In any crisis, preserving our core values is paramount.

The leak of the COVID-19 virus was likely an accident. However, this accident demonstrated to its creators the stunning effectiveness of their new weapon, former MEP Tunne Kelam (Isamaa) writes.

Over the past five years, convincing arguments about the origins of the pandemic, its management, politicization, possible manipulation by interest groups, or the stifling of public debate have yet to be presented. The global media and investigative organizations' subjugation to a single official narrative for several years has largely been suppressed. According to this version, the deadly virus emerged from a wet market in Wuhan via a pangolin. Thus, COVID-19 was presumed to have a natural origin, with the viruses already existing in the natural environment.

Another version stems from the human environment. Wuhan hosts a world-class virology institute known to research COVID-19 viruses, including gain-of-function modified viruses. These involve genetic modifications to enhance biological functions of gene products, increasing a virus' ability to cause damage and spread while enabling it to target specific hosts (including human groups). The potential of artificially enhanced viruses for future biological warfare is undeniable. China's military interest and direct involvement in Wuhan's research are no secret.

The CIA's initial conclusion leaned strongly toward a possible lab leak at the Wuhan Institute. This was supported by the Chinese authorities' evasiveness. For instance, in the fall of 2019—months before the "discovery" at the Wuhan market—several leading researchers at the institute allegedly fell ill, and their names and emails vanished. An epidemic spreading for weeks in Wuhan was initially described as viral pneumonia of unknown origin. Beijing delayed several critical weeks before informing the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 11, 2020, about the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2. According to US intelligence, thousands of virus samples were removed from the institute for security reasons before the pandemic was made public, and the lab's records remain sealed even to WHO investigation teams. All of this points to what the CIA then called a "smoking gun."

Nevertheless, by early 2020, the official international narrative almost fully embraced the natural-origin theory—a version that, though steadily weakening, persists to this day.

The democratic world also has a role to play in the push for the natural-origin theory. US scientists and firms were found to have been complicit in the Wuhan virus research. As early as 2008, the New York-based research firm EcoHealth Alliance organized the construction of a coronavirus resembling what later became known as SARS-CoV-2. The firm applied for and received funding from the US National Institutes of Health to study a gain-of-function virus (code-named “Defuse”) in collaboration with the Wuhan lab. According to a later Congressional investigation, tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars were invested in this risky and ethically questionable US-China cooperation project.

In early 2020, Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, emerged as America's "coronavirus czar" as the pandemic expanded. He led efforts to discredit the lab-leak theory. In February 2020, Fauci instructed a group of virologists to produce a report, which he later edited himself. One of the virologists, Kristen Andersen, later testified before Congress that the scientists were tasked specifically with disproving the lab-leak theory.

The "study" was published on March 17, 2020, in Nature Medicine ("The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2"). In April 2020, Fauci attended a press conference with President Trump, asserting that the study suggested lab-leak proponents should be treated as conspiracy theorists. According to Fauci, the virus mutated in animals and jumped to humans.

One of the most damaging impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Western societies was the extreme limitation of freedom of speech and opinion, free debate, and rational thinking, with centralized state authority expanding its grip on individual liberties.

This set the stage for a monopolistic, rigidly enforced international stance on the origins of COVID-19. The lab-leak theory was officially relegated to the realm of conspiracy or wishful thinking. One of the most damaging impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Western societies was the extreme limitation of freedom of speech and opinion, free debate, and rational thinking, with centralized state authority expanding its grip on individual liberties.

Against this backdrop, the findings of the US House of Representatives select subcommittee, released on December 4, 2024, are significant. The investigation, launched in February 2023, spans one million pages of documents and 520 pages of text. It is the most authoritative and comprehensive assessment of COVID-19's origins, impacts, and responses to date.

The select subcommittee concluded that the most likely source of COVID-19 was an incident at the Wuhan Virology Institute during gain-of-function virus research. The virus possesses biological characteristics not found in nature. All COVID-19 cases resulted from human-to-human transmission. Wuhan is home to one of China's top-level SARS research labs, which conducted gain-of-function studies without adequate biosafety measures. Researchers at the institute fell ill with a SARS-like disease in the fall of 2019, months before the alleged market outbreak. If a SARS-19-like virus existed in nature, it would have been discovered by now.

The committee also determined that the article published in Nature Medicine on March 17, 2020, which health authorities and media used to discredit the lab-leak theory, was initiated by Fauci to support his favored natural-origin narrative. Oversight of potentially dangerous research by health institutions was inadequate and unreliable. The WHO's response to the pandemic was a dismal failure, marked by submission to the Chinese Communist Party's pressure and prioritization of China's political interests over its international obligations.

The situation has finally become clear. Arguments for the natural origin of COVID-19 have nearly disappeared. Opponents of the lab-leak theory cannot even hide behind the excuse of probability—albeit a very high one. The conclusions of the House select subcommittee provide an undeniable foundation for further serious investigations. A 100-percent confirmation of a lab leak can only come if communist China opens its archives and laboratories—a prospect unlikely under the current regime.

This does not absolve Western societies from the responsibility to analyze mistakes made during the pandemic. Moving forward, the potential of SARS-CoV-2-like laboratory-constructed viruses in biological warfare must be taken with utmost seriousness. As early as January 26, 2020, The Washington Times highlighted a key issue—the Wuhan lab plays a crucial role in China's covert bioweapons development program. China's national defense doctrine has included a chapter on the growing role of biological weapons in future wars for over a decade. This includes genetic viruses targeting specific ethnic groups.

The free world's primary lesson should be that, in any crisis, preserving our core values is paramount.

The COVID-19 virus leak was likely an accident. However, this accident demonstrated to its creators the extraordinary effectiveness of their new weapon. Without firing a single shot or causing any physical destruction, the entire world was brought to its knees for a year or two, losing much of its functionality. Societies were left confused, focusing less on external enemies and more on blaming their own governments.

The free world's primary lesson should be that, in any crisis, preserving our core values is paramount. These values must not be sacrificed under the pretext of better management. The excuse that restrictions are imposed "in your best interests" echoes an old warning: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Freedom of speech and expression, open and honest debate, and respect for citizens' dignity, even in emergencies, are key to facing new crises.

Ronald Reagan warned that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. Today, one might say freedom is just one pandemic away from extinction—unless we heed the lessons of the last one.