On Friday, January 17, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officially revoked all funding for the “EcoHealth Alliance” (EHA) and its former chairman Peter Daszak, who were involved in gain-of-function research related to the Wuhan virus in China. The HHS also imposed a 5-year ban on the organization and Daszak from engaging in virus research.
According to a press release issued by the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Friday, following an eight-month investigation by its “COVID-19 Task Force”, the Department of Health and Human Services made the decision based on the evidence uncovered.
The investigation concluded that gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the most likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The committee noted that the EcoHealth Alliance and Daszak facilitated gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, without proper oversight and deliberately violated multiple requirements of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, receiving millions of dollars in funding.
Considering the events related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and gain-of-function research as the most probable origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EcoHealth Alliance and its former chairman should not receive any further funding from American taxpayers.
In May 2024, Chairman Brad Wenstrup of the COVID-19 Task Force revealed evidence of the EcoHealth Alliance repeatedly violating NIH grant terms.
Wenstrup pointed out that the EcoHealth Alliance often disregarded government oversight requirements, failing to report dangerous gain-of-function experiments conducted at the Wuhan virus research facility to the U.S. government and delaying the submission of required research reports by two years.
Committee Chairman James Comer said in a statement, “Justice for the American people has been served today. The unscrupulous EcoHealth Alliance and its corrupt former chairman Daszak have been officially disqualified by the HHS for using taxpayer funds to aid in dangerous gain-of-function research in China.”
The statement further added, “Today’s decision is not only a victory for American taxpayers but also for U.S. national security and global public safety.”