Animal spillover? Lab leak? What the science says about the origins of COVID-19

The release of Dr. Anthony Fauci's pandemic diaries has rekindled the debate over the origins of SARS-CoV-2. Here's how scientists have weighed in.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4000x2774+0+0/resize/4000x2774!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbe%2F12%2F5249a3ba415992bbe8fc996a8a40%2Fgettyimages-1193097821.jpg' alt='Members of the Wuhan Hygiene Emergency Response Team leave the shuttered Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei, Province on January 11, 2020. Investigations of the origin of COVID-19 have centered on the animals sold at the market.'/><p>The release of Dr. Anthony Fauci's pandemic diaries has rekindled the debate over the origins of SARS-CoV-2. Here's how scientists have weighed in.</p><p>(Image credit: Noel Celis/AFP)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-136142' />