The Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that it has officially barred the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) from receiving US funding for the next 10 years, as more evidence points to the COVID-19 pandemic leaked from Chinese laboratories.
Office of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra sent a letter on Tuesday to WIV Director General Dr. Yanyi Wang informed him that the laboratory – which carried out risky gain-of-function experiments against the bat coronavirus – would be denied US research grants until July 16, 2033.
The letter states that attempts have been made to contact the lab by fax, email and mail about HHS’s decision to suspend funding in July, but no WIV official has contested the position or responded to the agency.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced today that it has formally barred the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) from receiving US funding for the next 10 years.REUTERS
The lab — which conducted risky gain-of-function experiments against the bat coronavirus — will be denied a US research grant until July 16, 2033. Future Publishing via Getty Images
In that earlier submission, the NIH said it found the Wuhan Institute of Virology had “conducted experiments that produced greater levels of viral activity than allowed under the terms of the grant,” namely for bat coronavirus studies.
Other requests for the findings of the Chinese research institution’s laboratory have also been ignored after the NIH made requests for them on November 5, 2021 and January 6, 2022.
“WIV does not acknowledge the violation, does not cooperate with the Government to address the violation, does not accept responsibility for the violation, and, therefore, may not take action to eliminate the risk to the Government in conducting business transactions with WIV at this time. or to the future,” the letter said.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology has “conducted experiments that produced greater levels of virus activity than allowed under the conditions of the grant,” namely for bat coronavirus studies. AFP via Getty Images
A typical debarment period for a research institution is usually no more than three years.
House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) released a redacted copy of the letter on Wednesday, calling it a “clear step in the right direction.”
“This is particularly timely as evidence and intelligence continue to mount that the COVID-19 pandemic originated from a laboratory failure in Wuhan,” Wenstrup said. “Rewarding the potential source of a global pandemic with American resources will only lead to more future health risks.”
“Furthermore, the Select Subcommittee recently revealed that leading public health authorities — including Dr. Anthony Fauci — knew about the risky laboratory conditions in Wuhan before the worldwide spread of COVID-19,” he added.
“This is very timely as evidence and intelligence continue to mount that the COVID-19 pandemic was caused by a laboratory failure in Wuhan,” said Rep. Brad Wenstrup.AP.
“Covering China’s lab failures, hiding critical evidence from the American people, and facilitating the public promotion of false alternative narratives is deeply troubling and deserves thorough investigation.”
HHS has not yet publicly commented on the determination. Neither the agency nor its suspension and debarment officials responded to The Post’s request for comment.
US taxpayers paid more than $2,168,345 in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to Chinese research institutions from 2014 to 2021, according to a Government Accountability Office report released in June.
“[T]The Select Subcommittee recently revealed that leading public health authorities — including Dr. Anthony Fauci — learned about the risky laboratory conditions in Wuhan,” said Wenstrup.REUTERS
A little more than $1.4 million of those funds went to the Wuhan Institute of Virology through a subsidy provided by the Manhattan-based EcoHealth Alliance.
US intelligence agencies have issued conflicting reports about the origins of the COVID outbreak, with the FBI being the first to declare a lab leak as the most likely explanation for the outbreak.
The Department of Energy has also concluded that SARS-CoV-2 most likely leaked from a Chinese laboratory. The CIA was unable to make a determination about the origin of the pandemic.
However, a senior whistleblower at the CIA recently revealed to Congress that the six analysts who initially identified a lab leak as the most likely explanation for the outbreak “were given significant financial incentives to change their positions.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
