Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Beyond words:' Absolutely reckless': Biden admin renews grant to EcoHealth Alliance —​ the same outfit that funded dangerous experiments at epicenter of pandemic NEWS

'Absolutely reckless': Biden admin renews grant to EcoHealth Alliance —​ the same outfit that funded dangerous experiments at epicenter of pandemic

NEWS

The move comes despite protest from experts, watchdogs, and lawmakers, as well as a damning report from the HHS Office of Inspector General that cast EHA in a particularly unfavorable light.
EHA, still run by British zoologist Peter Daszak, announced Monday that it would once again be meddling with bat coronaviruses on the American taxpayer's dime.
According to the EHA, the objectives of the new NIH- and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease-funded project are to:
  • "characterize and analyze more than 300 new whole genomes and large genome segments of SARSr-CoVs from our archived samples to determine the processes underlying coronavirus recombination and identify viral strains with a high predicted risk of spillover"; 
  • "analyze archived samples from community- and clinic-based syndromic surveillance of people to identify evidence of spillover, assess behavioral risk factors, and pinpoint evidence of illness"; and
  • "conduct in vitro viral characterization and in silico analysis of epidemiological data to identify hotspots of further CoV spillover risk."

EHA noted that the NIH grant enabling it to resume toying with coronaviruses "reflects a reversal of the previous termination and suspension of an R01 awarded in 2019, but halted in April 2020 due to concerns about continuing collaborative laboratory research with the Wuhan Institute of Virology."

Former President Donald Trump had the grant suspended after the organization's link to gain-of-function research in Wuhan was exposed.

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