New Delhi: National Institutes of Health (NIH) Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak acknowledged this in Congress on Thursday. American taxpayer Gain-of-function research funded at Wuhan Institute of Virology Before the COVID-19 pandemic in China.
Representative Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic questioned Dr. Tabak, “Did NIH fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology? [Manhattan-based nonprofit] ecohealth [Alliance], Tabak replied, “If you’re talking about the general term, yes, we did.”
The admission comes after more than four years of procrastination by federal public health officials, including Tabak himself and former officials National Allergy Institute And infectious disease (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, about a controversial research practice that modifies viruses to make them more infectious. A New York Post report said Tabak explained that this type of research is widespread and poses no risk or harm, which is why it is not regulated.
Dr. Bryce Nichols, professor of genetics at Rutgers University, criticized Tabak’s response as “vagueness and semantic manipulation.” He accused NIH officials of resisting accountability for risky research that could yield pandemic potential pathogens.
In July 2023, US Department of Health And the U.S. Department of Human Services (HHS) blocked the Wuhan Institute of Virology from receiving federal grants for the next 10 years. moreover, EcoHealth Alliancewhose funding was pulled by HHS for the next three years, has faced scrutiny for its involvement in the research.
Tabak previously acknowledged in an October 2021 letter to Congress that NIH had funded a “limited experiment” at the Wuhan Institute of Virology testing whether naturally occurring bat coronaviruses The spike protein can bind to the human ACE2 receptor in a mouse model. This experiment, which involved modifying bat coronaviruses with SARS and MERS viruses, was not described as gain-of-function research, despite EcoHealth’s failure to report that the modified viruses violated grant terms. While doing this, they became 10,000 times more infectious.
Despite repeated denials by Dr. Anthony Fauci, Republicans have consistently challenged NIH’s involvement in gain-of-function research. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) specifically questioned Fauci in several hearings, demanding clarity on NIH’s funding practices.
A House subcommittee is investigating whether COVID-19 was accidentally leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, which multiple US intelligence agencies and experts have said is the most likely cause of the pandemic. Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe have both supported this theory.
Nichols concluded that the hearing underlined the lack of oversight for scientific research on pathogens, highlighting the need for strict controls and accountability to prevent future pandemics.
Dr. Fauci is scheduled to testify at a public subcommittee hearing on June 3 about gain-of-function research and the origins of the pandemic.
us-taxpayers-money-used-for-controversial-virus-research-in-wuhan-et-healthworld
