President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that bans all federal funding for what he called “dangerous” gain-of-function virus research.
The White House stated that the order “will drastically reduce the potential for lab-related incidents involving gain-of-function research, like that conducted on bat coronaviruses in China by the EcoHealth Alliance and Wuhan Institute of Virology.” The order is also meant to protect Americans from incidents “such as those that likely caused COVID-19 and the 1977 Russian flu.”
“In all of the history of Gain-of-Function research, we cannot point to a single good thing that has come of it,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who appeared alongside Trump at the signing.
The order instructs US research agencies to identify and halt any biological research that could jeopardize public health or national security, such as causing another pandemic. It particularly cited research done in countries of concern such as China or any other country where there is not “adequate oversight to ensure that the countries are compliant with United States oversight standards and policies.” However, the White House emphasized the policy will not interfere with legitimate biological research aimed at strengthening US biosecurity and health