I just went through the
Newsweek link several times to confirm something. Counter to my expectations, the
Newsweek article
does not, in fact, suggest that the NIH funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab. Here are the specifics from the
Newsweek link:
So far, no NIH-funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan. Next paragraph:
Gain-of-function research is mentioned, but apparently not at the Wuhan lab (?) or else I think the
Newsweek writer mentions it explicitly. It's also possible that the second phase didn't get to the gain-of-function part before funding was pulled in April 2020.
That might be Fauci's out -- that Rand Paul is incorrect about the specific type of NIH-funded research conducted in Wuhan. (Louisiville, KY
Courier-Journal 5/11/2021)
FWIW,
Daszak gave Nature.com an interview about this last summer. He doesn't mention "gain of function" but he does talk about "spillover" -- though he seems to mean "spillover" that happens naturally.
I mean, it does look bad if you connect the dots a certain way. It just looks like the
Newsweeks and the Rand Pauls out there don't
quite have the goods yet to really make these accusations stick. Not to say that those goods will never be found -- just that they've
not yet been presented for public consumption.