HHS Bars EcoHealth, Peter Daszak From Receiving Federal Funds for 5 Years
A congressional investigation found that EcoHealth Alliance and Daszak facilitated gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, without proper oversight.
A congressional investigation found that EcoHealth Alliance and Daszak facilitated gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, without proper oversight.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has formally banned pandemic research nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance and its former president, Peter Daszak, from receiving federal funding for five years.
The House Oversight Committeeâs Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic revealed the decision on Jan. 17, providing a letter from HHS to EcoHealth Allianceâalong with a separate letter to Daszak.
âAfter considering the information in the administrative record in this matter, including the information presented in the above-mentioned responses, I have determined that a period of debarment for Dr. Daszak is necessary to protect the Federal Governmentâs business interests,â an HHS official, whose name was redacted, wrote in one of the letters. A nearly identical justification featured in the other letter.
The subcommittee said its investigation found that EcoHealth Alliance and Daszak facilitated gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, without proper oversight and violated multiple requirements of their multimillion-dollar National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant.
Gain-of-function research consists of manipulating viruses under laboratory conditions to make them more virulent so they can be studied more effectively by scientists. The practice is highly controversial as it results in more lethal viruses that could wreak havoc on humanity if they escape the lab, as some contendâincluding U.S. intelligence agenciesâthe virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic did.
In a report released in May 2024 that detailed the investigationâs findings, the subcommittee recommended that EcoHealth Alliance and Daszak should be debarred and criminally investigated. Subsequently, HHS suspended funding for EcoHealth and proposed debarment, with the decision to debar, announced on Jan. 17, marking a milestone in the investigation.
âJustice for the American people was served today,â Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a Jan. 17 statement. âBad actor EcoHealth Alliance and its corrupt former President, Dr. Peter Daszak, were formally debarred by HHS for using taxpayer funds to facilitate dangerous gain-of-function research in China. Todayâs decision is not only a victory for the U.S. taxpayer, but also for American national security and the safety of citizens worldwide.â
EcoHealth Alliance did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision. However, in a number of rebuttals posted on its webpage, the company denied that its money contributed to gain-of-function research and said it believes the virus behind COVID-19 originated in nature rather than in a lab.
âThe bat coronavirus research conducted by EcoHealth Alliance and the Wuhan Institute of Virology could not have started the pandemic,â the company wrote in a June 2024 statement.
In a more recent response to the subcommitteeâs final report, EcoHealth said it was âdeeply disappointedâ in the accusations leveled against the company and called the investigation politically motivated.
âWillful obfuscation and fearmongering over important scientific research, which extends well beyond damaging attacks on EcoHealth Alliance to unwarranted attacks on respected scientific and public health entities around the country, will do nothing to predict, prepare or prevent the next pandemic,â the group wrote.
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Not only does âAPT.â already hold the record for the highest ranking ever achieved by a female K-pop act (including groups) on the Official Singles Chart, but it is now the first K-pop song ever to spend 12 weeks in the top 5âand the first to spend four weeks in the top 2 of the chart.
âAPT.â also topped both the Official Streaming Chart and the Official Singles Sales Chart this week, in addition to staying strong at No. 2 on the Official Singles Downloads Chart.
Congratulations to Rosé!
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On January 18, the popular variety show aired a sneak peek of its upcoming Lunar New Year special, which will feature three celebrity family duos as guests. KISS OF LIFEâs Belle and STAYCâs Sieun will appear together with their respective fathers Shim Sin and Park Nam Jung, both of whom are legendary singers in Korea. Sisters BIBI and tripleSâs NaKyoung will also be guesting on the show together.
In the newly released preview, Sieun dances with Park Nam Jung to his iconic hit âDreaming of You,â which is famous for its choreography. Meanwhile, Shim Sin sings KISS OF LIFEâs hit song âStickyâ together in a special duet with Belle.
After BIBI enviously says she wishes she were Park Nam Jungâs or Shim Sinâs daughter, she remarks that she and sister NaKyoung didnât fight much while they were growing up. However, NaKyoung swiftly begs to differ, insisting they fought a lot. Later, the two siblings playfully sing Block Bâs âNillili Mamboâ together.
The guests and âKnowing Brosâ cast members then don hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) to play a guessing game together. When Sieun argues with her dad over a story about an amusement park trip, Lee Sang Minâwho doesnât have children of his ownâwoefully shares, âI want to argue with my daughter too.â
Finally, the preview ends with a brief glimpse of Sieun and Park Nam Jung performing âA Whole New Worldâ from the âAladdinâ soundtrack together.
Check out the full preview below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5mR_4AKcpo
âKnowing Brosâ airs on Saturdays at 8:50 p.m. KST.
Watch full episodes of âKnowing Brosâ with subtitles on Viki below:
[viki-watchnow url=https://www.viki.com/tv/36478c-ask-us-anything?locale=en]
Or watch BIBI in her film âHopelessâ below!
[viki-watchnow url=https://www.viki.com/movies/40648c-hopeless]
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