Trump Ends Federal Funding of Gain-of-Function Research, Citing Covid-19 Pandemic

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday afternoon ending the allocation of federal funding toward risky gain-of-function research in foreign countries like China, where the Covid-19 pandemic is believed to have originated.

The order targets the funding of gain-of-function research conducted in “countries of concern,” including Iran, and other nations that don’t have high oversight standards for biological research, according to a White House fact sheet. The directive is said to prevent the potential outbreak of another pandemic.