Gain of Function (GoF) Research Funding: US Senator says “Dr. Fauci caught lying about NIH funding in Wuhan”

Back in 2012, Dr. Anthony Fauci argued in a paper that the benefit of Gain-Of-Function (GoF) research into bat virus “was worth the risk.” The research involves scientists extracting viruses from the wild and engineer them to infect humans in order to study potential therapeutics including vaccines.

In the paper, Dr. Fauci wrote:

“In an unlikely but conceivable turn of events, what if that scientist becomes infected with the virus, which leads to an outbreak and ultimately triggers a pandemic? Scientists working in this field might say — as indeed I have said — that the benefits of such experiments and the resulting knowledge outweigh the risks.”

The research was later funded by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease, according to a piece from Newsweek Magazine titled: “Dr. Fauci Backed Controversial Wuhan Lab with U.S. Dollars for Risky Coronavirus Research.” In the article, Newsweek wrote:

“But just last year, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the organization led by Dr. Fauci, funded scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and other institutions for work on gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses.”

Newsweek went on to say that Dr. Fauci played an important role in promoting GOF research. Below is how Newsweek explains it:

“In 2019, with the backing of NIAID, the National Institutes of Health committed $3.7 million over six years for research that included some gain-of-function work. The program followed another $3.7 million, 5-year project for collecting and studying bat coronaviruses, which ended in 2019, bringing the total to $7.4 million.”

Fast forward to today. Dr. Fauci appeared before the Senate in Washington, D.C. During the hearing, U.S. Senator Rand Paul asked Dr. Fauci about GoF funding and how Dr. Fauci had said in the past that NIH did not fund research work in Wuhan, China.

Sen. Paul later shared a video of a heated exchange between him and Dr. Fauci. Titled, “Dr. Fauci Caught Lying about NIH Funding in Wuhan,” Sen. Paul accuses Dr. Fauci of lying to Congress.

In another tweet, Senator Rand Paul said: “Yes, Dr. Fauci’s NIH did fund the Wuhan Virology Lab. Here’s the verbatim admission from their chief scientist Dr. Shi Zhengli.”

Yes, Dr. Fauci’s NIH did fund the Wuhan Virology Lab. Here’s the verbatim admission from their chief scientist Dr. Shi Zhengli. pic.twitter.com/wk5mzeLWHR

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 20, 2021

Below is the screenshot.