NIH Official Admits Taxpayers Funded Gain-Of-Function Research In Wuhan Prior To Covid-19 Pandemic After Years Of Denials

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Principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Lawrence Tabak has now acknowledged to Congress on Thursday that American taxpayers had indeed financed gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko pressed Tabak on NIH’s involvement during a session with the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, the New York Post reported.

“Dr. Tabak, did NIH fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology through EcoHealth Alliance?” Lesko asked.

Tabak responded, “It depends on your definition of gain-of-function research. If you’re speaking about the generic term, yes, we did.”

The Post highlighted that after more than four years of evasion, federal public health officials, including Tabak and former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director Dr. Anthony Fauci, have finally responded to questions about controversial research practices that modify viruses to increase their infectivity.

Tabak defended the research, stating, “this is research, the generic term [gain-of-function], is research that goes on in many, many labs around the country. It is not regulated. And the reason it’s not regulated is it poses no threat or harm to anybody.”

Dr. Bryce Nickels, a professor of genetics at Rutgers University and co-founder of the pandemic oversight group Biosafety Now, criticized Tabak’s response, stating, “Tabak was engaging in the usual obfuscation and semantic manipulation that is so frustrating and pointless.”

Nickels emphasized that Tabak was avoiding accountability for potentially risky research that could lead to the creation of pandemic pathogens.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul had notably pressed Fauci on this matter in multiple hearings throughout 2021.

Fauci vehemently declared in May of that year, “The NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”

Then-NIH director Dr. Francis Collins echoed this statement during a House hearing during the same month, testifying that researchers at the Wuhan lab “were not approved by NIH for doing gain-of-function research.”

Collins cautiously added at the time: “We are, of course, not aware of other sources of funds or other activities they might have undertaken outside of what our approved grant allowed.”

Fauci is scheduled to answer questions about gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab and theories regarding the origin of the pandemic in a public subcommittee hearing set for June 3.

The Post reported Tuesday that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) suspended all federal grants to EcoHealth Alliance, which funded gain-of-function virus research before the pandemic.

HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisitions Katrina Brisbon informed EcoHealth President Dr. Peter Daszak in a Wednesday letter that there was “adequate evidence” to recommend cutting off funding to the non-profit.

Brisbon added, “Debarment is generally for a period not to exceed three years; however, regardless of whether EHA contests this action or responds to this Notice, I may impose debarment for a longer period or shorter period as the circumstances warrant.”

HHS barred the Wuhan Institute of Virology from receiving federal grants for the next 10 years starting in July 2023, according to the Post.