The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has formally commenced debarment proceedings against Dr. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, a not-for-profit organization implicated in gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This action follows HHS’s implementation of an immediate government-wide suspension of funds allocated to EcoHealth Alliance last week. The move stems from EcoHealth’s alleged noncompliance with certain grant procedures, particularly in relation to its work with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).
A review of EcoHealth’s work, submitted two years late in August 2021, indicated that the Wuhan Institute’s research may have resulted in an increase in viral activity, contravening the terms of the grant. Both EcoHealth and the Wuhan Institute were presented with multiple opportunities to refute this finding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) but failed to do so.
Due to this inadequate response, the NIH concluded that the Wuhan Institute’s research likely violated biosafety protocols, a conclusion that remains uncontested. The memorandum emphasized that EcoHealth, as the prime grantee administrator, was responsible for overseeing the activities of its subawardees and that Daszak did not adequately monitor the Wuhan Institute’s compliance.
Prior to HHS’s debarment efforts, congressional lawmakers highlighted EcoHealth’s use of taxpayer funds to finance potentially hazardous gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has called for a criminal investigation into this matter, and Committee Chair Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) has emphasized that Daszak’s debarment does not exempt him from accountability to the American people.
The suspension of funds to EcoHealth last week was prompted by the nonprofit’s willful violation of a multimillion-dollar NIH grant. Millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer funds were directed to the Wuhan Institute of Virology through EcoHealth Alliance for research on the transmission of bat coronaviruses to humans. The research involved RNA extractions, DNA sequencing, and biological experiments on pathogen spillover from bats to humans.
EcoHealth Alliance also received funds that were redirected to Wuhan University for disease surveillance research activities, including the collection of biological samples from people in China with high levels of exposure to bats for further screening by the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Former U.S. government officials, such as former NIH Director Francis Collins, have asserted that U.S. taxpayer money was not approved for gain-of-function research, which involves modifying a virus to enhance its infectiousness among humans.
It is important to note that EcoHealth Alliance has disputed the allegations against it and has stated that its research complied with all applicable regulations. The organization has also emphasized its commitment to transparency and accountability. The debarment proceedings against Daszak are ongoing, and it remains to be seen what the ultimate outcome will be.
