Washington DC [US], June 24 (ANI): A total of sixty per cent of US citizens believe that the coronavirus was created in the Wuhan laboratory in China and then leaked, according to a media poll.

In the survey conducted by Fox News, only 31 percent of Americans think that the deadly virus had evolved from nature. The poll was conducted among 1,001 US citizens between June 19 and June 22.

As many as 50 per cent of the participants believe COVID-19 has permanently changed the way Americans live, while 42 percent think the change is temporary.

In February this year, the WHO team had dismissed the theory of a 'lab leak' of the virus. Dr Peter Daszak, a former member of the WHO mission had said that the decision to downplay the lab theory was a unanimous judgment among the WHO team's 17 members.

The WHO report determined that the possibility the virus came from a lab was "extremely unlikely," noting there was "no record" any lab had closely related viruses. The probe was criticised by the US, UK, and other governments over its limited access to "complete, original data and samples."Last year, 27 leading scientists who appeared in The Lancet made a statement, organized by Daszak, which condemned what it called "conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin" and proclaimed "solidarity with all scientists and health professionals in China."However, one of the 27 signatories, Peter Palese, who is a prominent New York City microbiologist said that "disturbing information" has led him to reverse course regarding his belief in the "natural origin" of COVID-19, reported New York Post.

Two months after the statement was published, Daszak emailed US top coronavirus adviser Dr Anthony Fauci thanking him for supporting the theory that the COVID-19 naturally jumped from animals to humans and did not leak out of the Wuhan lab.

Daszak stated that EcoHealth's work in China -- including at the Wuhan lab -- was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). He also denied that he or EcoHealth received money directly from the Chinese government.

The so-called "lab leak" theory, once dismissed by the mainstream media, has gained traction in recent weeks after a series of revelations. (ANI)