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Ban on gain-of-function studies ends
This article in The Lancet published in February 2018 throws much light on how the ban on gain of function research on virus was lifted -research that carries with it the danger of increasing transmission of virus if something unexpected happens in the manipulation of a virus. It was lifted in 2018 in the US by officials in the US Health Ministry, NIH and HHS. The Cambridge group of scientists and experts opposed lifting the ban on such dangerous research that could make the virus more contagious through manipulation. Epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch of Harvard School of Public Health wrote at the time that the lab research to create a more lethal strain of virus could lead to "an accidental pandemic" yet he was ignored. The public in America and in the world is unaware of how this created serious risks for public health in the world through the coronavirus.
Did US health officials lift the ban on such research without consulting other countries such as India, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, and the EU on its ramifications. Were public health experts and the publics themselves in the US and around the world not drawn into the discussion of public health and the dangers that existed. Not only did officials in HHS and NIH restart the research by lifting the ban but also sent funds overseas for such research- was this a proper or thoughtful action considering the risks involved. Is enhanced surveillance of virus- a dubious benefit from manipulation of a virus- something a few health officials can decide for the whole world in addition to the US. How are health officials in one or two countries responsible to the people in India, Brazil, Europe and the poorest populations in the world in the world in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, people who have suffered devastating consequences from transmissibility of the virus, including children and older people with health problems.
India, Brazil, Italy, Spain, France, UK, and other countries worst hit by the coronavirus must ask serious questions about how they can protect their people if institutions in the US and international institutions are seen as failing to protect world public health.
How lifting of a ban on research manipulation of a virus in 2018 by NIH (US) and HHS is related to the transmissibility of coronavirus and the pandemic
06/04/2021
Research on increasing the pathogenic power of the virus by engineering part of its genome is seen as a possible cause of the pandemic in these articles in WSJ and other media sources, based on new memos released under the Freedom if Information Act. These memos by virologists to Dr.Fauci at NIH in the US gave their analysis after their first look at the virus genome for coronavirus. The lifting of the ban on such research by US Health ministry and the NIH agency in 2018 led to labs in overseas locations being funded with US funds to conduct such research.
Grouped Articles
Opinion | Anthony Fauci and the Wuhan Lab
WSJ 06/03/2021
Ban on gain-of-function studies ends
The Lancet Infectious Diseases 06/04/2021
U.S. Is Said to Have Unexamined Intelligence to Pore Over on Virus Origins
NYTimes.com 05/28/2021
Did Covid come from a Wuhan lab? What we know so far
The Guardian 05/27/2021
Call for a Full and Unrestricted International Forensic Investigation
Group of 26 Scientists from Australia, France, Britain and the US 03/04/2021
WSJ 03/30/2021
The origins of the coronavirus and the 2018 NIH lifting of a US ban on virus research that increases transmissibility
06/04/2021
Dr. Fauci, NIH, HHS, lifted the ban on research and manipulation of virus in lab settings in 2018 The role played by the Cambridge Group of scientists who opposed lifting the ban on gain of function research for surveillance purposes. The US public and the public in the world in India, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America unaware of what was going on. The devastating effects of the coronavirus in 202 and 2021 and the lack of a vaccine in 2020, lack of a vaccine in sufficient quantities in 2021. The paltry benefits of surveillance compared to the great risks of something going wrong, as pointed out by the Cambridge Group. Why was it ignored in 2018. Who makes decisions for public health in the world. Can the US make decisions for India, the people in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Does even the US public know about it, much less the public in the world at large. What power is given by the US Constitution to US government agencies on matters of public health. How are a few individuals at HHS and NIH accountable to the public in the US and the world at large.
Linked Articles
Opinion | Anthony Fauci and the Wuhan Lab
WSJ 06/03/2021
Ban on gain-of-function studies ends
The Lancet Infectious Diseases 06/04/2021
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