Billy Long takes his shot at Dr. Fauci

(From Seventh District Congressman Billy Long)

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been considerable discussion on where it started. Many doubted the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) assertion that COVID originated in a Wuhan wet market and for good reason.

It was very concerning that the Wuhan Institute of Virology is located a few miles from the wet market in question, especially since the lab specializes in bat coronaviruses, the very virus behind COVID. Initially, the mainstream media scoffed at the idea of an accidental lab leak and called anyone who asked questions about this theory a conspiracy theorist, but that is starting to change.

 

It was reported last spring that three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were hospitalized with a mysterious illness in November of 2019, before COVID appeared at the wet market. This shows that the lab leak theory is entirely credible.

So now that we know about the lab where COVID may have escaped from, we need to look at how that lab was funded, particularly when the money came from you and me.

When we look at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, we can’t forget about EcoHealth Alliance, a New York city based non-governmental organization. According to their website, EcoHealth Alliance has a mission that “develops science-based solutions to prevent pandemics and promote conservation.”




In the wake of COVID, that research is being called into question. Specifically, EcoHealth Alliance is allegedly funding “gain of function” research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. This kind of research is designed to genetically mutate a virus, in order to study potential mutations of a pandemic, and develop vaccines to stop it. Gain of function research also comes with significant risks of a virus leaking out of the lab and infecting the general public.




That appears to be what happened with the COVID pandemic. Gain of function research is conducted all over the world, but given China’s lack of transparency, it is rightfully concerning that an American company would do this research in a lab run by the CCP.



Even more concerning is the funding source for EcoHealth Alliance, especially when a large amount of their funding comes directly from the United States government. The National Institute of Health (NIH) and Dr. Fauci himself have been pressed on this issue by Congressional committees seeking answers on gain of function research.




Dr. Fauci has vehemently denied that the United States would fund such controversial research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, but the facts don’t appear to support his assertion. Last summer, it was reported that the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) were in fact funding EcoHealth Alliance.




DOD has given EcoHealth Alliance nearly $42 million since 2008, while HHS has given them $13 million over the same period. This raises serious questions about the United States’ role in funding gain of function research overseas, and has led to Congress banning the Pentagon from funding EcoHealth Alliance’s activities in China.



COVID has devastated the world’s economy and taken the lives of more than 5 million people worldwide. It is imperative that the United States never again fund gain of function research in China, or anywhere in the world that lacks the necessary transparency and safety protocols to prevent a lab leak. Congress must thoroughly investigate EcoHealth Alliance’s funding, so that we can prevent a tragedy such as COVID from ever happening again.