US Government Suspends Funding to Wuhan Lab Over Risky Experiments
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has suspended funding to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China, where COVID-19 cases were first identified. The move comes after it was revealed that the institute conducted risky experiments with funding from the US government.
The HHS official said that the WIV had received more than $1.4 million in US government funds for testing under a project called Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence. However, documents made public in 2021 showed that the experiments violated the terms of the grant. Mice infected with a modified version of the virus became sicker than those infected with the original virus.
The official stated that the WIV had failed to contest the conclusion that it had violated the grant’s terms. As a result, the immediate suspension of the institute was deemed necessary to mitigate any potential public health risk. The suspension is temporary and will be followed by a debarment process that could cut off the WIV’s access to US funding for a period of time.
Lawmakers have long criticized the WIV for conducting risky research, with some intelligence officials believing that the lab could be the origin of the COVID-19 virus. Multiple bills, including one proposed by Senator Joni Ernst, have sought to permanently bar US funding to the WIV, but they have not yet been approved by Congress.
The HHS cited 26 documents to support its decision, the majority of which were from January 2022 or earlier. Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Brett Guthrie, and Morgan Griffith issued a joint statement welcoming the suspension but criticized the Biden administration for taking too long to make the decision.
The HHS has not responded to requests for comment, and the WIV did not respond to inquiries. The institute will have an opportunity to protest the proposed debarment before a final decision is made.
The HHS terminated the grant to the WIV under the Trump administration in 2020, but the termination was later reversed. Funding was paused until certain conditions were met due to concerns about biosafety at the lab. In 2022, the HHS informed the WIV that no more money would be sent under the grant, and the following year, the grant was renewed to the nonprofit organization EcoHealth Alliance.
Critics have called for EcoHealth to be blocked from future funding, considering revelations that one of its recent grants was approved by Dr. Anthony Fauci without his proper reappointment to his position as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID).
The HHS Office of Inspector General recommended debarring the WIV after it failed to comply with grant requirements and adequately monitor its research. The watchdog also stated that the WIV’s failure to respond to requests for compliance documents raised concerns.
