WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a surprising move, the White House has redirected the COVID.gov website—once a trusted source for testing, treatment, and vaccine information—to a new landing page focused on the “Lab Leak: True Origins of COVID-19.”
The updated page puts forward a five-point argument that COVID-19 likely originated from a lab accident in Wuhan, China, reigniting long-standing debates over the virus’s origin.
What’s on the New COVID.gov Page?
The new site draws heavily from the December 2024 final report by the Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. While no scientific consensus has been reached, the site frames the lab leak theory as the most credible explanation for the pandemic, citing the following five claims:
- The virus has biological characteristics not found in nature.
- All cases stem from a single introduction into humans.
- Wuhan houses China’s top SARS-related research lab.
- Researchers at the lab were allegedly sick with COVID-like symptoms in late 2019.
- If COVID had a natural origin, the evidence “would have already surfaced.”
The page also criticizes prominent health officials and federal agencies, including former NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, the NIH, and HHS, claiming they misled the public, violated transparency laws, and worked to suppress the lab leak theory.
Fauci at the Center of Renewed Scrutiny
The site highlights a photo of Dr. Fauci and mentions his 2023 pardon from former President Joe Biden, suggesting the pardon covered “any offenses,” though no criminal charges were ever filed against Fauci.
It revives past accusations that Fauci helped influence and amplify a 2020 research paper dismissing the lab leak theory—claims Fauci has strongly denied under oath.
“The accusation being circulated that I influenced the scientists to change their minds by bribing them with millions of dollars in grant money is absolutely false, and simply preposterous,” Fauci testified in June 2024.
“The second issue is a false accusation that I tried to cover up the possibility that the virus originated from a lab. In fact, the truth is exactly the opposite.”
Longstanding Scientific Debate
Since the early days of the pandemic, the origin of the virus has been hotly debated, with two prevailing theories:
- A natural spillover from animals to humans (possibly via a wet market), or
- An accidental lab leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Multiple U.S. intelligence community assessments, including declassified reports in 2021 and 2023, have not reached a definitive conclusion. Most agencies agreed the virus was not engineered as a biological weapon, and China’s leadership was likely unaware of the outbreak initially.
However, the reports also emphasized that limited access to raw data from China continues to hamper investigations.
Political Undertones and Public Response
This latest move by the White House has raised eyebrows across both political and scientific communities. The website questions the effectiveness of early public health measures such as masking, social distancing, and lockdowns, and it also singles out New York’s COVID response for criticism.
The sudden redirection of COVID.gov, once a hub for public health resources, to a politically charged narrative has drawn concern among experts who warn that it could undermine public trust and blur the line between scientific inquiry and political messaging.
Trump’s Comments on China and COVID
This is not the first time the White House has pushed the lab leak theory. Earlier this year, former President Donald Trump remarked at the World Economic Forum that COVID-19 “strained” his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, despite saying he still likes him personally.
“It was very strained with COVID coming out of Wuhan… that strained our relationship,” Trump said.