Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the chief medical advisor to Pre...
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, is facing calls to answer for a shocking report, published by the Intercept, about the so-called “gain of function” research that the National Institute of Health funded at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, thought to be a possible origin point for COVID-19.
In May of 2021, Dr. Fauci, in his testimony to a Senate committee investigating whether the U.S. funded “gain-of-function” research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, claimed that the NIH “has not ever and does not now fund gain of function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”
The Intercept, however, found, through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, evidence that the NIH issued a “bat coronavirus grant” to a group called the EcoHealth Alliance for “$3.1 million, including $599,000 that the Wuhan Institute of Virology used in part to identify and alter bat coronaviruses likely to infect humans.”
Dr. Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University and an expert who spoke to The Intercept, elaborated on the findings on Twitter.
“The materials show that the 2014 and 2019 NIH grants to EcoHealth with subcontracts to WIV funded gain-of-function research as defined in federal policies in effect in 2014-2017 and potential pandemic pathogen enhancement as defined in federal policies in effect in 2017-present,” Ebert noted. “The materials confirm the grants supported the construction — in Wuhan — of novel chimeric SARS-related coronaviruses that combined a spike gene from one coronavirus with genetic information from another coronavirus, and confirmed the resulting viruses could infect human cells.”
“The materials reveal that the resulting novel, laboratory-generated SARS-related coronaviruses also could infect mice engineered to display human receptors on cells (‘humanized mice’),” he added. “The materials further reveal for the first time that one of the resulting novel, laboratory-generated SARS-related coronaviruses — one not been previously disclosed publicly — was more pathogenic to humanized mice than the starting virus from which it was constructed and thus not only was reasonably anticipated to exhibit enhanced pathogenicity, but, indeed, was *demonstrated* to exhibit enhanced pathogenicity.”
That puts Dr. Fauci in the spotlight. Dr. Ebright even suggested that Fauci was being “untruthful” in his remarks to the Senate.
Several Republicans have already suggested that Dr. Fauci must face a full investigation and be totally forthcoming about his agency’s — and the NIH’s — involvement in funding research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) suggested that Dr. Fauci is “hiding” something and should face an investigation.
Former White House physician-turned-Congressman Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) also demanded answers — and for Dr. Fauci to be terminated from his role as a top health advisor to the president.
Rep. Josh Hawley (R-MO) had the harshest criticism, demanding that Dr. Fauci resign immediately.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has already referred Dr. Fauci for an investigation for possible perjury related to his testimony in front of Congress.
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