Evidence and government testimonies contradict Dr. Fauci's denial of NIH funding for gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Statements made by Dr. Anthony Fauci about the funding of gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China have been contradicted by multiple government officials, according to newly released interview transcripts. Dr. Fauci, under oath in May 2021, had asserted that the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) "has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the" WIV. This position was maintained during a heated exchange with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) a month later.
Gain-of-function research refers to studies that enhance a pathogen's abilities, such as its transmissibility. An NIH disclosure in October 2021 revealed that an experiment funded by the U.S. before the COVID-19 pandemic did make a bat coronavirus more virulent at the WIV.
Dr. Hugh Auchincloss, a senior adviser to Dr. Fauci, informed the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic that the common definition of gain-of-function encompasses research that adds new attributes to a biological agent. This definition is consistent with the NIH's prior definition, which was withdrawn on the same day as the NIH's disclosure.
Andy Schoonover
Dr. Lawrence Tabak, another senior NIH official, confirmed to lawmakers that the experiment mentioned in the NIH disclosure fits the description of gain-of-function research. According to the Select Subcommittee, documents and evidence demonstrate that EcoHealth Alliance facilitated gain-of-function research at the WIV and that Dr. Fauci's congressional testimony misled the public regarding NIH's involvement.
In his own testimony to the panel, Dr. Fauci explained that his earlier statements were based on the P3CO framework, the operative definition of gain-of-function at the time. The P3CO framework, introduced in 2017, excludes some gain-of-function research and applies to potential pandemic pathogens that are likely highly transmissible and virulent.
The NIH's 2021 disclosure showed that the modified bat coronavirus used in the WIV experiments killed more mice than the original virus. When recently questioned by the House subcommittee, Dr. Fauci acknowledged that the virus's pathogenicity increased but maintained it was not a potential pandemic pathogen, thereby not meeting the P3CO framework's definition.
Despite evidence and colleague testimonies, Dr. Fauci has not conceded that the WIV experiments met the broader definition of gain-of-function research. Dr. Fauci, who resigned from his position as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in late 2022, is set to appear at a public hearing held by the subcommittee on June 3.
