The study was prepared in May 2020 by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and was referred by the US State Department when it conducted an inquiry into the pandemic's origins during the final months of the Trump administration (Image: Shutterstock)

A report by the United States government’s national laboratory, on the origins of the COVID-19 virus, has concluded that claims the virus leaked from a Chinese lab in Wuhan is “plausible and deserves further investigation”, The Wall Street Journal reported on June 7, citing sources.

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The study was prepared in May 2020 by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and was referred by the US State Department when it conducted an inquiry into the pandemic's origins during the final months of the Trump administration, the report added.

As per sources, the report was specifically prepared by the Lawrence Livermore’s “Z Division,” which is the lab’s intelligence arm and was based on genomic analysis of the SARS-COV-2 virus.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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COVID-19 may have leaked from Wuhan lab, US report concludes: Report

As per sources, the report was specifically prepared by the Lawrence Livermore’s “Z Division,” which is the lab’s intelligence arm and was based on genomic analysis of the SARS-COV-2 virus.

The study was prepared in May 2020 by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and was referred by the US State Department when it conducted an inquiry into the pandemic's origins during the final months of the Trump administration (Image: Shutterstock)

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