ODNI Releases Partially Declassified Annex on Wuhan Lab and COVID-19 Origins

October 7, 2024

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has released a document through a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) case, DEOM-2024-00007, which was filed by The Black Vault on March 13, 2024. The request sought the declassification of the classified annex to the report titled, “Potential Links Between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Origin of the COVID-19 Pandemic“, submitted to Congress in June 2023. The MDR release includes a partially declassified version of the annex, although much of it remains classified under Executive Order 13526, citing exemptions related to intelligence activities, sources, methods, and foreign relations.

The newly released document provides limited additional information beyond what was already made public in the unclassified report. However, certain sections of the annex contain more detail about activities at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and its collaboration with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). For instance, the annex acknowledges that WIV researchers conducted coronavirus research in collaboration with PLA scientists, though it emphasizes that the coronaviruses studied were not direct ancestors of SARS-CoV-2.

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One notable point of interest in the annex, which mirrors the public report, is the mention of WIV researchers falling ill in the fall of 2019. The annex states that some researchers displayed symptoms that were consistent with, but not diagnostic of, COVID-19. However, there are no indications that these individuals were hospitalized due to the symptoms, and some may have been ill with unrelated conditions. This detail is echoed in the unclassified report, though the annex provides slightly more specificity regarding the health of these researchers.

Most of the newly released material remains heavily redacted. The declassification letter explains that much of the report continues to be classified under sections protecting intelligence activities, foreign relations, and scientific or technological information relevant to national security. These redactions are supported by 50 U.S.C. § 3024(i) of the National Security Act, which is invoked to protect intelligence sources and methods.

The unclassified version of the report, released in June 2023, addressed potential links between the WIV and the origins of COVID-19. It highlighted two competing hypotheses for the pandemic’s origin: natural exposure to an infected animal or a laboratory-related incident. While most U.S. intelligence agencies assess that the virus was likely transmitted to humans through natural exposure, a few agencies, including the Department of Energy and the FBI, favor the hypothesis of a laboratory-related origin. The report also pointed out that no evidence suggests the virus was genetically engineered or deliberately released.

The declassified annex, while providing some additional context, largely aligns with these conclusions. The exemptions and redactions in the document demonstrate the sensitive nature of the intelligence surrounding this issue, particularly concerning the involvement of the PLA and the specific activities undertaken at the WIV.

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