Fauci testifies publicly before House panel on COVID origins, controversies

Lauran Neergaard, AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, nan apical U.S. infectious illness master until leaving nan government successful 2022, faced heated questioning Monday from Republican lawmakers astir nan origins of nan COVID-19 pandemic.

A Republican-led subcommittee has spent complete a twelvemonth probing nan nation’s consequence to nan pandemic and whether U.S.-funded investigation successful China whitethorn person played immoderate domiciled successful really it started. Democrats opened nan proceeding saying nan investigation truthful acold has recovered nary grounds that Fauci did thing incorrect while missing an important opportunity to hole for nan adjacent scary outbreak.

Fauci – alternately a trusted sound during nan pandemic and nan target of partisan attacks, moreover decease threats – spent 14 hours complete 2 days successful January being grilled by nan House sheet down closed doors. On Monday, they questioned him again, successful nationalist and connected camera for nan first clip since he ended much than 5 decades of authorities service.

This clip astir he faced a caller group of questions astir nan credibility of his erstwhile agency, nan National Institutes of Health. Last month, nan House sheet revealed emails from an NIH workfellow astir ways to evade nationalist records laws, including by not discussing arguable issues connected authorities email.

The main issue: Many scientists judge nan microorganism astir apt emerged successful quality and jumped from animals to people, astir apt astatine a wildlife marketplace successful Wuhan, nan metropolis wherever nan outbreak began. There’s nary caller technological accusation supporting that nan microorganism mightiness alternatively person leaked from a laboratory. A U.S. intelligence analysis says there’s insufficient grounds to beryllium either measurement — and a caller Associated Press investigation recovered nan Chinese authorities froze captious efforts to trace nan root of nan microorganism successful nan first weeks of nan outbreak.

Fauci has agelong said publically that he was unfastened to some theories but that there’s much grounds supporting COVID-19’s earthy origins, nan measurement different deadly viruses including coronavirus cousins SARS and MERS jumped into people.

“I person many times stated that I person a wholly unfastened mind to either anticipation and that if definitive grounds becomes disposable to validate aliases refute either theory, I will fresh judge it,” he said successful an opening connection for Monday’s hearing.

Republicans besides person accused Fauci of lying to Congress erstwhile he denied successful May 2022 that his agency funded “gain of function” investigation – nan practicing of enhancing a microorganism successful a laboratory to study its imaginable real-world effect – astatine a laboratory successful Wuhan.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., holds up a photograph arsenic she condemns Dr. Anthony Fauci, nan erstwhile Director of nan National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, during his grounds earlier nan House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee connected nan Coronavirus Pandemic, astatine nan Capitol successful Washington, Monday, June 3, 2024. | J. Scott Applewhite, AP Photo

NIH for years gave grants to a New York nonprofit called EcoHealth Alliance that utilized immoderate of nan costs to activity pinch a Chinese laboratory studying coronaviruses commonly carried by bats. Last month, nan authorities suspended national backing to EcoHealth Alliance – and projected barring it from early backing – citing its nonaccomplishment to decently show immoderate of those experiments.

The meaning of “gain of function” covers some wide investigation and particularly risky experiments to “enhance” nan expertise of perchance pandemic pathogens to dispersed aliases origin terrible illness successful humans. In transcripts of Fauci’s January interviews pinch nan House panel, he stressed he was utilizing nan risky research definition.

“It would beryllium molecularly impossible” for nan bat viruses studied pinch EcoHealth’s costs to beryllium turned into nan microorganism that caused nan pandemic, he reiterated successful Monday’s opening statement.

As for hiding nationalist records, Fauci said successful nan opening remarks that “to nan champion of my knowledge I person ne'er conducted charismatic business via my individual email.”

Fauci became a family sanction successful nan pandemic – first nether President Donald Trump and later arsenic a main advisor to President Joe Biden — trying to explicate nan latest nationalist wellness proposal to a frightened nationalist moreover arsenic scientists were struggling to study astir nan caller virus. Research from nan agency he led for 38 years, NIH’s National Institute connected Allergy and Infectious Diseases, led to vaccines that allowed a return to normalcy.

The House sheet besides questioned him astir nan subject down immoderate arguable advice, including societal distancing.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from nan Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for each content.