Sen. Paul spars with Dr. Fauci over NIH funding
Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marty Makary on Dr. Anthony Fauci and Sen. Rand Paul’s heated exchange over the coronavirus origins and funding research in China.
Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marty Makary on "Fox & Friends" Wednesday reacted to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., accusing the National Institute of Health of funding risky Chinese research that could have led to the global pandemic. In a combative exchange, Dr. Anthony Fauci repeatedly said that "the NIH and NIAID categorically has not funded gain of function research to be conducted in the Wuhan Institute of Virology."
RAND PAUL, FAUCI AGAIN SPAR OVER COVID ORIGINS, CONTROVERSIAL WUHAN LAB
DR. MARTY MAKARY: Well, that's exactly what happened. ... We are not certain it's gain of function research because that's kind of a gray area whether or not the ultimate goal was to increase the virulence or contagiousness or deadliness of a virus.
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But, why else would you be manipulating and characterizing coronavirus in bats? Why are we doing that? Why is research trying to collect all these coronaviruses from bats and in the lab you have a respiratory pathogen and trying to evaluate what these viruses are?
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There are a million viruses on planet Earth and less than 1% cross over into human beings. Why are we funding research to look at this in China when we know lab accidents are common, especially with respiratory viruses. I think people have a right to be upset right now.
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