‘I Told You So’: Sen. Paul Hits Back At Critics After NIH Admits To Funding Gain-Of-Function Research

Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul had a brief message Wednesday after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) admitted they did in fact fund gain-of-function research.

“‘I told you so’ doesn’t even begin to cover it here,” Paul tweeted Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1450996489862459394

The NIH issued a correction admitting EcoHealth Alliance, which received a grant from the NIH, did violate the terms and conditions of the grant to fund gain-of-function research.

The NIH described an experiment conducted by EcoHealth Alliance that “was testing if spike proteins from naturally occurring bat coronaviruses circulating in China were capable of binding to the human ACE2 receptor in a mouse model,” the letter reads. “All other aspects of the mice, including the immune system, remain unchanged.”

https://twitter.com/R_H_Ebright/status/1450947395508858880

Several mice in the experiment infected with the “SHC014 WIV 1 bat coronavirus became sicker than those infected with the W1V1 bat coronavirus,” the letter dated Oct. 20 continues. “This was an unexpected result of the research, as opposed to something that the researchers set out to do.”

The letter explains how the the NIH reviewed the research prior to giving the funds and determined the research did not involve “enhanced pathogens of pandemic potential” because the bat viruses had not been shown to infect humans and therefore the research was not subject to departmental review.

Still, the NIH said they did include specific terms and conditions that outlined criteria for another review, such as requiring EcoHealth Alliance to report even just “one log increase in growth,” which would trigger a second review.

EcoHealth Alliance allegedly failed to report their findings as required by the grant, according to the le... (Read more)

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