--- title: "Fauci Says It’s Unlikely But Possible That COVID Virus Leaked From Lab" description: "Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci still isn't ruling out the possibility that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 may have leaked from a lab." date: "2021-06-03" modified: "2021-06-03" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/fauci-unlikely-possible-covid-virus-leaked-lab" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "anthony fauci" - "china" - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "virus" --- # Fauci Says It’s Unlikely But Possible That COVID Virus Leaked From Lab ![Infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci still isn't ruling out the possibility that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 may have leaked from a lab.]() *\Image: NIAID\* The United States' top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, still isn't ruling out the possibiltiy that the SARS-CoV-2 virus — which causes COVID-19 — may have leaked from a lab. In a Thursday [*CNN* interview](), Fauci reiterated that he still thinks it's far more likely that the virus jumped to humans from animals. "I have always said, and will say today to you, John, that I still believe the most likely origin is from an animal species to a human," Fauci told *CNN*'s John Berman, "but I keep an absolutely open mind that if there may be other origins of that, there may be another reason, it could have been a lab leak." Fauci's comments show that what happened in late 2019 remains hazy. While scientists have been able to hone in on the origin of the virus, nobody can nail down its origins with 100 percent certainty. "I believe if you look historically, what happens in the animal-human interface, that in fact the more likelihood is that you're dealing with a jump of species," Fauci said. "But I keep an open mind all the time. And that's the reason why I have been public that we should continue to look for the origin." For the duration of the pandemic, conspiracy theories have pointed the finger at China, claiming that China either intentionally released it or that it escaped from a lab. The hypothesis has gained steam in recent weeks, with president Joe Biden giving intelligence agencies 90 days to get closer to a conclusion about where the virus came from. Even social media giant Facebook [announced]() last week it would stop taking down posts that claimed COVID was manufactured in a lab in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the pandemic. On Tuesday, a number of prominent outlets, [including *The Washington Post*](), got a hold of some 10,000 emails Fauci sent and received since early last year. Critics said the infectious disease expert was too quick to support claims that the coronavirus wasn't released from a lab and had natural origins instead. Fauci, though, just says that he's following the science — and common sense. "I don't remember what's in that redacted \[emails\], but the idea I think is quite farfetched that the Chinese deliberately engineered something so that they could kill themselves as well as other people," Fauci argued in the *CNN* interview. "I think that's a bit far out, John." ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()