The U.S. Department of Energy has released a report that finds it’s highly likely that the Covid-19 pandemic was caused by a laboratory leak from a facility in Wuhan, China. The report also admits to having “low confidence” in its findings, but this is actually a sign of strength. It’s a refreshing break from the overconfidence we’ve seen in the debate around Covid’s origin.

The lab leak hypothesis has been gaining traction for several months, but the Department of Energy’s report finally provides much-needed support. This resource-intensive investigation involved contributions from three different agencies: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.

Although the report’s authors did not definitively conclude that a lab leak was to blame,