Key Points
- Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Anthony Fauci went at it again over ‘gain-of-function’ research.
- The Senate hearing was contentious, with Paul accusing Fauci of Covering His A**.
- Fauci still maintains that the NIH did not fund any gain-of-function research.
Another Senate hearing. Another Fauci-Paul showdown. The Kentucky congressman wasted no time throwing haymakers at a fearful Fauci, who’s obviously running out of excuses for the NIH’s role in gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“What we are saying that this was a risky type of research — gain-of-function research — it was risky to share this with the Chinese and that Covid may have been created from a not yet revealed virus,” Paul said. “We don’t anticipate that the Chinese are going to reveal the virus if Covid came from their lab. You know that, and yet you continue to mislead. You continue to support NIH funding going to Wuhan. You continue to say you trust the Chinese scientists. You appear to have learned nothing from this pandemic.”
According to the Washington Examiner, “Fauci has been adamant that the NIH did not fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab. But Fauci, the leader of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has also admitted he doesn’t actually know everything that goes on in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”
That’s not exactly reassuring. In fact, that’s downright terrifying.
“Will you today finally take some responsibility for funding gain-of-function research in Wuhan?” Paul asked Fauci.
“Senator, with all due respect, I disagree with so many of the things that you’ve said,” Fauci shot back. “First of all, gain of function is a very nebulous term. We have spent — not us, but outside bodies — a considerable amount of effort to give a more precise definition to the type of research that is of concern that might lead to a dangerous situation,” Fauci added.
“The guidelines are very very clear that you have to be dealing with a pathogen that clearly is shown, and very likely to be highly transmissible and uncontrollable in humans, and to have a high degree of morbidity and mortality, and that you do experiments to enhance that, hence the word ePPP — enhanced potential pandemic pathogen,” Fauci continued.
“So what you’re doing is defining away gain of function. You’re simply saying it doesn’t exist because you changed the definition on the NIH website,” Paul replied. “This is terrible, and you’re completely trying to escape the idea that we should do something about trying to prevent a pandemic from leaking from a lab. The preponderance of evidence now points to this coming from a lab,” Paul fired at Fauci.
“And what you’ve done is changed the definition on your website to try to cover your ass, basically.”
Paul was adamant that for another pandemic to be prevented, Fauci would have to make concessions. “Until you accept it, until you accept responsibility, we’re not going to get anywhere close to trying to prevent another lab leak of this dangerous sort of experiment.”
Fauci was Time Magazine’s 2020 ‘Guardian of the Year.’ Sounds like all he’s guarding is Chinese lab secrets.
