House Oversight Republicans give HHS a Feb. 16 deadline to turn over docs on funding for Wuhan lab and Fauci emails



House Oversight Committee Republicans on Wednesday called on the Biden administration to hand over documents related to federal grant money provided to EcoHealth Alliance that was sub-awarded to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for bat coronavirus research.

A letter signed by Ranking Member Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) and the other committee Republicans invoked federal law to have the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services turn over the documents, which they had previously requested in July. That request went unanswered, the Republicans said.

“A series of events documented in communications from February to April 2020 raise serious concerns about conflicts of interest and abuse of government resources,” the letter states.

“Rather than be transparent with Committee Republicans, HHS and NIH have chosen to hide, obfuscate, and shield the truth. This stonewalling is particularly troubling considering NIH’s direct involvement in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the agency’s policy or practice to destroy potentially pertinent documents related to grant making decisions," they asserted.

The letter was first reported by Henry Rodgers for the Daily Caller.

JUST NOW\n\n@RepJamesComer & Oversight Republicans renewed their request to HHS @SecBecerra and @NIHDirector to provide all documents & communications about a grant awarded to EcoHealth, which funneled taxpayer funds to the Wuhan lab in China to study bat coronaviruses.pic.twitter.com/cHyy9YAZhT
— Oversight Committee Republicans (@Oversight Committee Republicans) 1643820891

EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit group that supports virus research across the globe, has received millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer funding for coronavirus research in China as well as many other projects. Between 2014 and 2019, the group provided $600,000 in NIH subgrants to the Wuhan lab to study bat coronaviruses. Those grants have become controversial as evidence emerged that the Wuhan lab was possibly involved in risky experiments that artificially make viruses more transmissible among mammals and potentially among humans.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology is located just 20 miles away from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, where scientists initially believed the first outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic happened. Officials from the Wuhan lab later claimed that the virus originated elsewhere and the market was the site of a super-spreader event. But questions remain over the virus' origins, including whether the virus was somehow leaked from the lab as a result of experiments there — a claim disputed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Francis Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health, and other prominent scientists and public officials.

The letter notes that the NIH had failed to produce documents on the 2014 grant sub-awarded to the Wuhan lab after multiple inquiries from lawmakers. The Republicans also raised concerns over Fauci's emails, which indicated that in early 2020, top government officials were warned of the possibility of a lab leak causing the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci and other top officials would go on to vigorously deny that the Wuhan lab, which received U.S. taxpayer funding, played a role in the origins of the pandemic.

Republicans say the NIH and HHS need to provide documents to answer some of the unresolved questions surrounding taxpayer funding for the Wuhan lab. They have also requested unredacted copies of Fauci's emails to be made available to the committee.

“By continuing to refuse to cooperate with our request, HHS and NIH are choosing to hide information that will help inform the origins of the ongoing pandemic, prevent future pandemics, strengthen the United States’ national security posture, and restore confidence in our public health experts and infrastructure," the letter says.

"The agencies’ continued obstruction is likely to cause irreparable harm to the credibility of these institutions. By providing the requested documents and information, HHS and NIH will have the opportunity to help our country move forward in a positive, transparent direction following the COVID-19 pandemic,” the lawmakers wrote.

The NIH and HHS were given a Feb. 16 deadline to respond.

NIH Director Francis Collins told Anthony Fauci there needs to be a 'quick and devastating' takedown of anti-lockdown declaration by 'fringe' Harvard, Stanford, Oxford epidemiologists: Emails



Newly exposed emails show outgoing National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins commanding Dr. Anthony Fauci to carry out a "quick and devastating" takedown of a statement by public health experts calling for "focused protection" of the most vulnerable populations. Emails show that Fauci would indeed attack the declaration.

What is the Great Barrington Declaration?

Infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists authored the Great Barrington Declaration, a document that argues against COVID-19 lockdowns that was released on Oct. 4, 2020.

"Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health," the declaration stated. "Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed."

"As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all – including the vulnerable – falls," the epidemiologists wrote. "We know that all populations will eventually reach herd immunity – i.e. the point at which the rate of new infections is stable – and that this can be assisted by (but is not dependent upon) a vaccine. Our goal should therefore be to minimize mortality and social harm until we reach herd immunity."

More than 15,000 medical and public health scientists have allegedly signed the Great Barrington Declaration and over 45,000 medical practitioners have endorsed the document. The health advice in the Great Barrington Declaration was the complete opposite of what top U.S. public officials espoused.

A 'quick and devastating' takedown is ordered

Four days after the Great Barrington Declaration was released, Collins instructed Fauci and Clifford Lane — the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Deputy Director for Clinical Research and Special Projects — to engage in a "takedown" of the anti-lockdown declaration, according to emails.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis obtained and released emails between the public health officials.

"This proposal from three fringe epidemiologists who met with the Secretary seems to be getting a lot of attention — and even a co-signature from Nobel Prize winner Mike Leavitt at Stanford," Collins wrote in an email sent on Oct. 8, 2020.

"There needs to be a quick and devastating takedown of its premises,” Collins wrote in reference to the Great Barrington Declaration.

In new FOIA email dump, NIH Director Collins emailed Fauci to urge a \u201cquick and devastating\u201d propaganda takedown of the Great Barrington Declaration, in which @MartinKulldorff @DrJBhattacharya and @SunetraGupta urged an end to COVID lockdowns and mandates.\nhttps://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/2020.10.13%20FOIA-00001024.pdf\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/jxIMPetjue
— Michael P Senger (@Michael P Senger) 1639780840

How did Dr. Anthony Fauci respond?

Fauci responded to Collins' direction by promoting a Wired U.K. article with the headline: "There is no 'scientific divide' over herd immunity."

Phil Magness — senior research faculty and interim research and education director at the American Institute for Economic Research – noted that the Wired U.K. article from October 2020 stated that the Great Barrington Declaration is irrelevant because lockdowns are in the "past."

The Fauci-endorsed Wired article is noteworthy for having one of the single worst hot-takes of the entire pandemic. It declared in October 2020 that the GBD should be ignored, because lockdowns were a thing of the past and would not be returning! \n\nhttps://www.wired.co.uk/article/great-barrington-declaration-herd-immunity-scientific-divide\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/U3LtPK97zc
— Phil Magness (@Phil Magness) 1639844416

Fauci then shared an article from progressive The Nation titled: "Focused Protection, Herd Immunity, and Other Deadly Delusions."

"But Kulldorff, Bhattacharya, and Gupta’s plan, enshrined as the Great Barrington Declaration unveiled at the American Institute for Economic Research this week, is not the way forward," the article read. "If we’re going to build toward a new politics of care, it will be by relying on progressive principles of justice and equality—not some notion of the survival of the young and the fittest."

Far from a scientific study refuting the GBD, Gonsalves's article is a political op-ed attacking @Jacobin magazine for breaking "solidarity" with other far-left media outlets on lockdowns. Why? Because Jacobin ran an interview with @MartinKulldorff on how lockdowns hurt the poor.pic.twitter.com/0j85WlKiwY
— Phil Magness (@Phil Magness) 1639844418

Gregg Gonsalves — the author of The Nation article — reportedly emailed Collins to "thank" him for speaking out against the Great Barrington Declaration and for "doing it 'undiplomatically.'" Gonsalves also agreed in calling the GBD epidemiologists "fringe."

In the meantime, Gonsalves also gets in contact with Collins to volunteer his services (along with future @CDCDirector Rochelle Walensky) to attack the GBD in the media.\n\nCollins approves, and forwards it to Fauci and a bunch of NIH underlings.pic.twitter.com/UJ2t7C18AA
— Phil Magness (@Phil Magness) 1639844421

Fauci attacked the Great Barrington Declaration during an ABC News appearance on Oct. 15, 2020.

"That declaration has a couple things in it that I think are fooling people, because it says things that are like apple pie and motherhood," Fauci told ABC News. "A, we don't want to shut down the country. I say that all the time. B, we do certainly want to protect the vulnerable."

Fauci sent an email to White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Deborah Birx on Oct. 16, 2020.

"Over the past week I have come out very strongly publicly against the "Great Barrington Declaration,'" Fauci wrote, adding that he will "connect" with her "later today or over the weekend."

On the morning of the Covid task force meeting, Fauci sends Deborah Birx this email alerting her about the need to oppose the GBD at the meeting. The unredacted part suggests they are preparing to attack @ScottWAtlas, who was perceived as the task force's champion of the GBD.pic.twitter.com/iqYbiTiZxo
— Phil Magness (@Phil Magness) 1639844423

Who are the 'fringe' epidemiologists?

Collins described the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration as "fringe."

The three "fringe" epidemiologists are Martin Kulldorff, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at Harvard University, Sunetra Gupta, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at Oxford University, and Jay Bhattacharya, MD, Ph.D., a professor and public health policy expert at Stanford University.

Bhattacharya reacted to Collins' email by writing on Twitter, "So now I know what it feels like to be the subject of a propaganda attack by my own government. Discussion and engagement would have been a better path."

Kulldorff responded by saying, "A year ago, @NIHDirector Francis Collins asked Fauci to do a 'devastating published take down' of the Great Barrington Declaration. A public debate would have been better. Invitation still open."

Gupta has yet to issue a statement, but she retweeted the above statements made by colleagues.

Dr. Francis Collins attempts to defend his 'takedown'

The House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis said Collins "expressed deep concerns about the herd immunity strategy being advocated by these 'fringe epidemiologists.'"

Collins was asked about the "takedown" during a Fox News interview on Friday, to which he replied, "Well, OK, if it’s that specific. There were people [like] Scott Atlas that said don’t worry about this business of putting on masks or asking people to isolate themselves or stay distanced. Let it rip. Let this virus run through the country until everybody has had it, and we’ll have herd immunity.'"

Atlas — who was an advisor on former President Donald Trump's White House Coronavirus Task Force — does not show up as one of the prominent signatories on the Great Barrington Declaration website.

NIH Director 'clarifies' after comment about parents wearing masks at home to protect unvaccinated kids



National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins issued a tweet to "clarify" on Tuesday after making remarks during a CNN interview about mask wearing at home to protect unvaccinated kids from COVID-19.

Collins said in his statement that it is not necessary to use masks at home, but vaccinated parents in areas with high coronavirus transmission should use masks at public indoor locations to help lower risks to their unvaccinated children.

"Let me clarify the masking message that I garbled on @NewDay this morning. Vaccinated parents who live in communities with high COVID transmission rates should mask when out in public indoor settings to minimize risks to their unvaccinated kids. No need to mask at home," he tweeted.

Let me clarify the masking message that I garbled on @NewDay this morning. Vaccinated parents who live in communiti… https://t.co/xCSKKm3Pzg

— Francis S. Collins (@NIHDirector) 1628022246.0

During a CNN interview on Tuesday Collins said that recommendations for children below the age of 12 are that they should avoid locations where they could contract the illness — he mentioned recommendations for masking at schools and said that at home people who have "unvaccinated kids should be thoughtful about this and the recommendation is to wear masks there as well. I know that's uncomfortable, I know it seems weird, but it is the best way to protect your kids."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that vaccinated individuals wear masks at public indoor settings in regions of the nation with substantial or high COVID-19 transmission.

Currently the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is allowed to be used in those 12 and older in the U.S., but no vaccine is available for those younger than 12.

The CDC says that kids 2 and older should wear masks in public venues.

"If your child is younger than 2 years or cannot wear a mask, limit visits with people who are not vaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown and keep distance between your child and other people in public," the CDC states.

During the CNN interview, Collins said regarding the Delta variant of the illness that, "It's clear that this variant is capable of causing serious illness in children. You have heard those stories coming out of Louisiana pediatric ICUs where there are kids as young as a few months old who are sick from this. That is rare. Certainly younger people are less likely to fall ill," he said.

"Again I don't wanna overstate the confidence that we have about whether Delta is more dangerous to children. The balance has not been fully settled there but it's tipping in that direction," he said.

Has the Delta variant increased the risk for unvaccinated children?NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins answers this… https://t.co/LVfLfj1oge

— New Day (@NewDay) 1627994461.0

NIH director: Parents should wear masks at home around unvaccinated kids



National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins advised parents on Tuesday to wear face coverings inside their own homes in order to protect unvaccinated children from contracting COVID-19.

What did he say?

During an appearance on CNN Tuesday morning, the public health expert said the "weird" practice is the "best way" to ensure that kids younger than 12 — who are currently not eligible to get the vaccine — aren't harmed by the Delta variant. Though he admitted that children are generally less affected by the virus and that the evidence indicating the Delta variant is more dangerous is "not as solid" as he wished.

Nevertheless, Collins pushed forward with his recommendations that kids younger than 12 "avoid being in places where they might get infected, which means mask-wearing in schools and at home."

"Parents of unvaccinated kids should be thoughtful about this, and the recommendation is to wear masks there [at home] as well. I know that's uncomfortable, I know it seems weird, but it is the best way to protect your kids," he said.

Has the Delta variant increased the risk for unvaccinated children?NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins answers this… https://t.co/LVfLfj1oge

— New Day (@NewDay) 1627994461.0

What else?

When asked whether any concrete evidence has yet to suggest that the Delta variant is more dangerous to children, Collins offered a mixed response.

"It's clear that this variant is capable of causing serious illness in children. You have heard those stories coming out of Louisiana, pediatric [intensive care units] where there are kids as young as a few months old who are sick from this," Collins said, before acknowledging, "That is rare."

"Certainly younger people are less likely to fall ill," he went on to say. "But anybody who tries to tell you, 'You don't have to worry about it if you're a young healthy person,' there are many counter-examples all around us now."

Later in the interview, Collins noted, "We don't have really enough numbers to be confident, but it certainly tilts the balance in that direction."

Why does it matter?

Fox News reported over the weekend that "out of 503,544 deaths currently reported by the [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], just 296 were kids below the age of 12, less than .06%."

Certainly, many parents are fatigued by the draconian restrictions implemented in their communities over the past year, especially as it relates to children who, by in large, are not as affected by the virus.

Given Collins' failure to provide concrete evidence indicating that the Delta variant is more dangerous to children, critics are likely to perceive that he is needlessly stoking fear.

Along those lines, FaithWire editor Tré Goins-Phillips used Collins' own words to argue, "This is not 'uncomfortable' or 'weird,' @NIHDirector, this has crossed the threshold into lunacy."

This is not “uncomfortable” or “weird,” @NIHDirector, this has crossed the threshold into lunacy. https://t.co/GRw8yu4Syw

— Tré Goins-Phillips 😎 🇺🇸 (@tregp) 1628010101.0