HHS suspends funding from organization that funded Wuhan virus research

The Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday suspended all federal funding for the nonprofit research organization EcoHealth Alliance for misleading government agencies about their taxpayer-funded research project. 

The announcement follows a long-term House investigation into EcoHealth’s potential involvement in the origin of SARS-CoV-2. The organization came under intense scrutiny during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic for its coronavirus research projects conducted in Wuhan, China, funded by the National Institutes of Health.

HHS’s Suspension and Debarment Official, Henrietta Brisbon, wrote to EcoHealth President Peter Daszak that the immediate suspension of funding for his organization is “necessary to protect the public interest and due to a cause of so serious or compelling nature that it affects [EcoHealth’s] present responsibility.”