EcoHealth boss to appear before House panel on alleged inconsistencies in coronavirus research

A GOP-led House panel said Thursday that EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak will take part in a public hearing next month on Capitol Hill about alleged inconsistencies in previous congressional testimony, including possible questions about gain-of-function research.

The hearing is set for May 1.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, before which Daszak will testify, alleges that during a transcribed interview with committees last year, Daszak made statements that were inconsistent about gain-of-function research that countered documents reviewed by different lawmakers. It alleged in the press release that EcoHealth used "taxpayer dollars to fund dangerous gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV)."

According to the National Institutes of Health, gain-of-function research on viruses is "enhancing transmissibility, virus replication, virulence, host range, immune evasion or drug and vaccine resistance to get insights into the viral mechanisms, to create and analyze animal models, to accelerate drug and vaccine development and to improve pandemic preparedness."

EcoHealth told Just the News in a letter that that it did not support gain-of-function research at the WIV and that "any assertion to the contrary are based either on misinterpretation, or willful misrepresentation of the actual research conducted."

A spokesperson for EcoHealth also added that "funding for the project 'Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence' was provided by the National Institutes of Health via an award to EcoHealth Alliance and a subaward to WIV. It is incorrect and misleading to state that any work done on this project was supported by funding from EcoHealth Alliance. The fact is that the bat coronavirus research conducted by EcoHealth Alliance and the Wuhan Institute of Virology could not have started the COVID-19 pandemic." 

An April 4 letter to Daszak sent by the committee said revelations discovered undermined his credibility and assertion he made during the interview. The letter called Daszak's 2023 testimony "misleading" and was signed by committee members Brad Wenstrup, James Comer, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Morgan Griffith and Brett Guthrie.

"The Committees have a right and an obligation to protect the integrity of their investigations, including the accuracy of testimony during a transcribed interview. We invite you to correct the record," the letter reads. 

Panel Chairman Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, also requested information from Daszak about EcoHealth's communication with the virology institute.

**Update: This story has been corrected to include EcoHealth's assertion that their funding did not include "gain-of-function" research, contrary to congressional allegations.