Trump Claims Lab Leak True Source of COVID-19 on New Site

Key Takeaways

• White House website now declares lab leak as official COVID-19 origin.
• COVID.gov redirects removed public health resources, impacting vulnerable communities’ access.
• Intelligence agencies lack direct proof for either lab leak or natural spillover theories.

The Trump administration has made a very big change by removing old federal COVID-19 websites and putting up a new White House website called, “Lab Leak: The True Origins of COVID-19.” This new website strongly claims that the COVID-19 pandemic started because of a lab accident in Wuhan 🇨🇳, not from an animal passing the virus naturally to people. This move means the government’s public message about how COVID-19 began has changed in a big way. It’s the first time a U.S. federal website has declared this lab leak theory as the “official” reason for the origin of the virus. This has sparked a lot of talk and debate among scientists, health officials, and the public in the United States 🇺🇸 and around the world.

The New White House Website: What Does It Say?

The main points on the new White House webpage focus on lab leak ideas and why the administration thinks the COVID-19 virus came from a lab in Wuhan 🇨🇳. Here’s a look at the five biggest arguments:

• Unique Features in the Virus: The website says the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has features in its structure that scientists have not seen in nature before. This means, according to the site, it is different from other viruses that have jumped from animals to humans before.

• Virus Came Only Once: The site claims the virus spread to humans in one main event. Past pandemics, like the ones caused by other coronaviruses, often started with several humans getting infected from animals at different times and places. This time, they claim, it only happened once.

• Focus on Wuhan’s Lab: The city of Wuhan 🇨🇳 is home to China’s top lab for studying SARS-like viruses: the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). The new website points out that this lab has done research where scientists change viruses in the lab to see how dangerous they could get. They call this “gain-of-function” research. The website also says these experiments were done in labs that may not have had strict safety rules.

• Reports of Sick Researchers: According to the site, several people who worked at the WIV lab got sick with “COVID-like” symptoms in the fall of 2019, before the world heard about the outbreak. The website says this is important because it could show the virus was in that lab before the official first cases.

• No Proof of Animal Spread: The site argues that if COVID-19 jumped from animal to human normally, there would probably be some proof by now, like an infected animal or a clear “first case” showing that spread from animal to a person. The site says this evidence hasn’t shown up.

The website also calls out some U.S. health leaders, especially Dr. Anthony Fauci, saying they pushed people to believe COVID-19 came from animals and tried to stop people from talking about the lab leak theory. This has added more debate and criticism online and in the media.

How Do These Claims Compare With Past Government Guidance?

This new website is very different from the way the government used to talk about COVID-19 and its origins. Before, federal agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offered lots of information about where to get COVID-19 tests, vaccines, and treatments, as well as up-to-date case numbers. Now, those services and details are gone from the main COVID-19 government pages. When you go to websites like COVID.gov or COVIDTests.gov, those pages now lead you straight to the new “Lab Leak” site, which does not give help for finding tests or vaccines.

Many people, including doctors and public health groups, have said this is a problem because it makes it harder for people—especially immigrants, people who do not speak English well, or people without internet at home—to get help and important COVID-19 information. Those who need tests, shots, or basic health instructions might have trouble now.

This new White House stance closely matches what was recently published by the Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. Their final report, released in December 2024, argued strongly for the lab leak theory, laying out many of the same ideas now posted on the White House website.

What Do Intelligence Agencies Say?

The United States 🇺🇸 intelligence community has spent a lot of time looking into how COVID-19 started. After all, knowing the “true origins” of a pandemic helps keep people safer in the future. Intelligence agencies under President Biden ran a review and in January 2025 shared their findings.

• The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said—with what it called “low confidence”—that a lab accident was more likely than a natural jump from animals. “Low confidence” means the agency thinks this is possible, but it does not feel certain. The report also said both the lab leak and natural spillover are still possible.

• Other intelligence groups inside the government are divided. Most of them say there is no sign that the virus was made as a weapon or released on purpose. They also say it looks like leaders in China 🇨🇳 did not know about the outbreak before it started spreading around the world.

So, even with all this attention, there is still no direct proof—no final answer—about how COVID-19 first got into the human population. Both ideas remain possible.

The Two Main Theories: Lab Leak vs. Natural Spillover

Scientists and health officials have talked about two main ways COVID-19 may have started:

1. Natural Spillover: This means the virus moved straight from an animal—possibly at a place like the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan 🇨🇳—into people. This kind of jump is called “zoonosis.” It’s how many diseases spread from wild animals to humans.

2. Lab Leak: This idea says the virus came out by accident from a lab, most likely the Wuhan Institute of Virology, while scientists were working with coronaviruses. Maybe someone who worked in the lab got sick and carried the virus outside, or maybe it got out another way.

The truth is, no one has found the “smoking gun”—clear, direct proof—for either theory. Many scientists want more data from China 🇨🇳, but those requests have not been answered. That’s why so much debate continues.

Supporting the Spillover Theory: Some studies placed early COVID-19 cases among people who worked or shopped at animal markets in Wuhan 🇨🇳, and environmental samples from those markets came back positive for coronavirus. But still, no scientists have found the exact animal that first passed the virus to a person.

Supporting the Lab Leak Theory: There are reports that several WIV researchers became sick just before the outbreak, and critics have pointed out some safety issues in labs where these viruses were studied. But none of this is direct proof that the virus leaked from the lab.

Let’s look at a table that sums up both theories:

This back-and-forth between the two ideas continues because, over years of searching, nothing has been found to fully settle the debate.

Removing Public Health Resources: Impact on the Public

One of the biggest worries after the new website went up is what it means for people trying to protect themselves against COVID-19. Before, websites like COVID.gov and COVIDTests.gov were places where Americans—including immigrants, seniors, students, and all kinds of families—could order free tests, find vaccine clinics, and learn what to do if they got sick. Now, all those pages send you straight to an information page about the lab leak. There are no links there to vaccines or tests.

This is more than a small change—it affects real people. Many immigrants rely on easy-to-read government websites to get the facts, because they may not have doctors they see often or may feel uncomfortable calling hotlines due to language or citizenship concerns. The link between clear health information and the public is very important for everyone’s safety, especially for those most at risk.

Analysis from VisaVerge.com suggests that limiting information in this way could leave communities more exposed to the virus, delay treatment, or even make people less likely to trust health advice from officials in the future. For immigrants and families that already face extra hurdles in accessing care—like language barriers or limited transportation—these changes are a major setback.

Discussion Around Dr. Fauci and Suppression Claims

The new White House website also spends time accusing some American health leaders of being unfair about the lab leak debate. It singles out Dr. Anthony Fauci and some other officials, saying they kept people from talking about the lab leak theory and made it seem like only the natural spillover idea should be discussed.

Some believe this was an effort to keep the public calm when the pandemic first started, while others say it stifled free debate. Scientific discussion works best when every possible idea can be examined in detail. If some officials pushed too hard against one theory, it could have made many people question the honesty of experts and the federal response.

This is important because trust between the public and government is vital, especially for immigrants and people in communities hit hardest by the pandemic. When trust fades, people may ignore advice that could save lives.

Broader International Impact and Continuing Questions

This change in the United States 🇺🇸 federal narrative about COVID-19’s beginnings will not stay inside one country. Around the world, health officials and government leaders are watching U.S. decisions closely. When discussions turn into official statements, it may affect cooperation between countries, joint research efforts, and even how future outbreaks are handled.

For immigrants in the United States 🇺🇸 who have families in other countries—or who still travel or send money home—these changes can affect how their home countries view and work with the United States 🇺🇸. If two countries disagree about the start of a major pandemic, it could slow down partnerships in the future, making it harder to fight new global diseases together.

For more in-depth, official statements directly from the U.S. government, you can visit the new White House “Lab Leak: The True Origins of COVID-19” page.

What Comes Next? Moving Forward as the Debate Continues

As the world continues to live with COVID-19, how the pandemic began is still a bigger question than ever. Many scientists believe that, without full access to all data from China 🇨🇳, and without new evidence, both theories will keep being discussed for a long time. It’s also likely that more questions about the safety of lab research and how to keep dangerous viruses away from the public will be raised.

Meanwhile, the practical needs of the public—including clear information on health resources—should remain a top priority. For communities across the United States 🇺🇸, including immigrants, students, and families still feeling the pandemic’s effects, having access to services is critical.

The shift in official U.S. messaging—moving away from direct, helpful public health information and toward promoting the lab leak theory—marks a major moment in the handling of both the COVID-19 story and how public resources are given out. The debate about a lab leak in Wuhan 🇨🇳 will probably continue for years, just as people around the world keep trying to learn from this pandemic and prepare for the next one.

In the end, the origin of COVID-19—whether from the Wuhan lab or a natural source—stays a mystery. The focus should also be on helping people stay healthy and making sure everyone has the tools they need to fight disease, no matter their background, language, or legal status. The lessons from this debate will last well beyond the current headlines, shaping how countries prepare for and respond to new global health threats in the future.

Learn Today

Lab Leak Theory → The proposal that COVID-19 escaped accidentally from a laboratory in Wuhan, not via animal-to-human transmission.
Gain-of-Function Research → Scientific experiments that modify viruses to study changes in transmissibility or virulence, potentially increasing risk.
Natural Spillover → A process where a virus jumps naturally from animals to humans, often through wildlife trade or direct contact.
Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) → A leading Chinese laboratory where coronavirus research and alleged gain-of-function experiments occurred.
Low Confidence (Intelligence) → A term used by agencies like the CIA meaning a finding is possible but lacks strong supporting evidence.

This Article in a Nutshell

The White House has replaced old COVID-19 websites with one declaring a COVID-19 lab leak in Wuhan as its official origin. This shift removes access to public health resources, sparking debate among scientists, officials, and immigrants. Intelligence agencies stress no conclusive proof for either lab or natural origins yet exists.
— By VisaVerge.com

Read more:

• USCIS Removes COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Green Cards
• New Zealand Visa Processing Times & COVID-19 Impact
• New COVID-19 Isolation Guidelines in California: California Department of Public Health Updates
• New COVID-19 Definitions & Guidelines for California Workplaces: CDPH Order Updates
• Options for UK Work Visa Holders After Losing Job Due to COVID-19