Security guards stand guard outside the Wuhan Institute of Virus Research on Feb. 2, 2021.
On Tuesday (23), 28 Republican members of Congress sent a letter to Christi Grimm, acting inspector general of the U.S. Department of health and Human Services (HHS), calling for a “prompt and thorough investigation” of the relationship between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Wuhan Institute of Virus Research (WIV) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Grimm called for a “prompt and thorough investigation” of the relationship between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Wuhan Institute of Virus Research (WIV) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The lawmakers asked Green to investigate the total amount of funding the WIV received from the NIH and whether any NIH officials communicated with the institute or its U.S. sponsors at the Time of the outbreak to put to rest the contention that the Chinese communist virus (COVID-19) may have been caused by a leak at the WIV laboratory.
Prior to the outbreak, researchers at the Wuhan Virus Institute were working on a bat-based coronavirus, a project supported by $600,000 in U.S. taxpayer funds that flowed to the Wuhan Virus Institute through research grants distributed by NIH to the EcoHealth Alliance, a U.S. nonprofit organization.
“Unfortunately, NIH played a significant role in supporting the Wuhan Virus Institute and this dangerous research and propagating false narratives, and NIH is dismissive of the potential role of its funded Wuhan Virus Institute laboratories in the COVID-19 pandemic.” The letter said.
The 28 lawmakers allege that NIH Director Francis Collins “secretly funneled taxpayer funds to the Wuhan Institute of Virus” to help it conduct reckless coronavirus experiments, and that the U.S. Department of Defense, through its funding of the EcoHealth Alliance, allocated money to the Wuhan Institute of Virus.
In their letter, the Republican lawmakers said Peter Daszak, president of the EcoHealth Alliance, lashed out at the U.S. government’s request to investigate whether the Chinese Communist virus began in the Wuhan Virus Institute’s labs.
“In light of all of this, we are gravely concerned about NIH’s relationship with the EcoHealth Alliance and the Wuhan Institute of Virus Research and the agency’s handling of allegations that the COVID-19 pandemic may have been caused by the Wuhan Institute of Virus Research laboratory, which is funded by NIH.” “We are also alarmed that the Wuhan Institute of Virus is eligible for additional funding from NIH through 2024,” the lawmakers added in their letter.
While the Wuhan Virus Institute remains eligible for U.S. taxpayer funding through 2024 to conduct animal research, White House press secretary Jen Psaki declared at a press briefing Tuesday that the Wuhan Virus Institute’s lab is not currently receiving any funding from U.S. taxpayers, and no future funding will be funneled to the lab.
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