Of course, the big news comes with possibly an even bigger caveat: according to the WSJ’s source, bird flu might be exempt from the temporary ban, which would beg the question: why?
If the gain-of-function pause should apply to anything, it should be to the virus that the public health authorities have promised over and over and over would be the trigger for pandemic 2.0.
Related: HHS Cuts Federal Funding to EcoHealth Alliance, ‘Nonprofit’ That Bankrolled Wuhan Lab
This is not a permanent ban, and ostensibly it does not apply to private-sector actors.
But let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth.
NEW – President Trump to Halt Funding for Gain-of-Function Research
“The Trump administration is drafting an executive order that would temporarily pause federal funding for gain-of-function research … The goal of the order would be to stop scientists with U.S. funding from… pic.twitter.com/8YiJXr1RJ5
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) January 23, 2025
Via Wall Street Journal (emphasis added):
The Trump administration is preparing an executive order that would halt federal funding, at least temporarily, for a risky and controversial kind of research into viruses that makes the pathogens more dangerous or contagious.
The goal of the order would be to stop scientists with U.S. funding from conducting “gain-of-function” research on viruses that could endanger human health, people familiar with the plans said.
Some viruses, such as the H5N1 bird-flu pathogen, might be exempt from the order, one of the people said.
The order hasn’t been finalized, and its specifics are a work in progress, the person said.
*Some Republicans have blamed the Covid-19 pandemic on gain-of-function research. Defenders say it helps scientists assess the potential of pathogens to infect humans and find ways to combat them.
“Some Republicans” blame COVID-19 on gain-of-function research? How about various American spy agencies, the House Oversight Committee that did a two-year investigation into the issue, and “anyone with common sense”?
Related: Dark Money PAC Rallies 17K Doctors to Denounce RFK Jr. HHS Nomination
Justin Goodman, Senior Vice President at the preeminent government watchdog group fighting waste and abuse in Public Health™, the White Coat Waste Project, issued the following statement:
As the group that first exposed and ended Fauci’s reckless funding for gain-of-function animal tests in Wuhan that violated federal policy, likely infected Patient Zero, and caused COVID, we applaud President Trump for taking swift and decisive action to defund dangerous and wasteful animal experiments that can prompt pandemics. Since COVID broke out, we’ve led efforts with lawmakers like Senators Joni Ernst, Rand Paul, and Roger Marshall to cut taxpayer funding for gain-of-function. But, despite what happened in Wuhan, we uncovered how the Biden Administration fought to continue bankrolling it and federal agencies have foolishly funded treacherous animal experiments to supercharge bird flu, monkeypox, and even coronaviruses. Fauci may have retired and been pardoned, but this is all part of his shameful legacy and we’ll be working overtime to dismantle it with Congress and the Trump Administration.
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