USAID Gave $4.67 Million Grant to Wuhan Lab Collaborator EcoHealth Alliance Last Fall

A United States government agency was still doling out millions of taxpayer dollars to the scandal-plagued EcoHealth Alliance as late as October of 2021, long after it became known that the Peter Daszak-led operation had funneled federal grant money to the Wuhan Institute of Virology to conduct risky gain-of-function research.

The Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded a $4.67 million five-year grant to EcoHealth Alliance in late 2021. A group of 26 House Republicans have sent a letter to USAID Administrator Samantha Power demanding answers.

Read the full story

Tennessee Sen. Blackburn and Kansas Sen. Marshall Introduce Bill to Pause Gain-of-Function Research Funding

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is sponsoring legislation with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) to place a moratorium on gain-of-function (GOF) research, problems with which many believe played a role in the outbreak of COVID-19.

GOF experiments enhance the severity or transmissibility of a virus or other biological agent. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have condoned such research “to help us understand the fundamental nature of human-pathogen interactions, assess the pandemic potential of emerging infectious agents and inform public health and preparedness efforts.” The NIH have however acknowledged major “biosafety and biosecurity risks” that warrant meticulous oversight.

Read the full story

WHO Defends Appointing U.S. Scientist Mired in Alleged Conflicts of Interest to Coronavirus Origins Investigation

The World Health Organization is defending its appointment of a U.S. doctor with prior financial ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) to be a part of its investigative team that probed the origins of COVID-19 in China in early 2021.

Peter Daszak’s involvement in the WHO’s investigative panel has been described as a conflict of interest by U.S.-based epidemiologists and medical groups. Prior to the pandemic, Daszak, as president of the nonprofit group EcoHealth Alliance, routed $600,000 in taxpayer funds to the WIV in the form of National Institutes of Health subgrants to fund studies into bat-based coronaviruses.

Read the full story

U.S. Scientist Who Led Charge Against COVID Lab Leak Theory Admits He Was Trying to Protect Chinese Scientists

The U.S. scientist behind an effort to stymie debate surrounding the possibility that COVID-19 could have accidentally escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology admitted through a spokesman that he did so to protect Chinese scientists from online criticism.

Dr. Peter Daszak, the president of the New York-based EcoHealth Alliance, orchestrated a statement published in The Lancet medical journal in February, prior to any serious research on the origins of COVID-19, condemning “conspiracy theories” that suggest the virus doesn’t have a natural origin.

Read the full story