The EcoHealth Alliance, a scientific research group, received a $3.3 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is still headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Peter Daszak, the CEO of EcoHealth Alliance, is said to be close to Fauci.
Emails exchanged between Fauci and Daszak were exposed in the summer of 2021. At one of them, Daszak seems to thank Fauci for playing down the idea that Covid-19 was developed in a lab in Wuhan, China.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology has previously been employed by Daszak’s EcoHealth Alliance for research, notably in ‘gain-of-function’ studies in which organisms are genetically transformed.
There have been unverified allegations that the Covid-19 virus was developed as a result of this kind of study.
Daszak’s team will be looking at bats and other coronaviruses in the wild for the upcoming research. The duration is August 2027.
In December 2022, Dr. Anthony Fauci will leave his position as NIH director.
The study will entail providing “viral sequences and isolates for use in vaccine development,” according to the NIH website.
In order to identify serological evidence of spillover, the research’s primary goal is to “perform community-based surveys and biological samples of persons often exposed to animals in Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam.”
“Sampling and PCR screening of bats and other animals at community monitoring locations” will be the other main goal.
According to a portion of the NIH paper, the new research “also provides data on animal reservoirs and community spillover events of significance to the development of COVID-19.”
Finally, we will quickly deliver viral sequences and isolates for use in vaccine and treatment research, according to another portion.
The long-term objective of initiatives like this one is to improve worldwide readiness in the event of a new pandemic, according to the NIH.
Research in this area “identifies the border region of Southern China, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam as a high risk for future development of new coronaviruses and the possible location where SARS-CoV-2 first “spilled over” from bats to humans,” according to the explanation for the award.
Additionally, populations in South East Asia that are near to animals will be tested for coronaviruses as part of the investigation.
A story from back in April provided further information on the role played by British researcher Peter Daszak in supporting dangerous coronavirus research in China.
They described the millions of dollars in government funding his EcoHealth Alliance received.
Daszak’s organization has long been in the focus of inquiries over the COVID-19 etiology after strangely transitioning from a non-profit dedicated to save manatees to a leading figure in viral gain-of-function research as it sought federal funding.
The extensive article that appeared in Vanity Fair describes how EcoHealth operated in a setting of “murky grant agreements, flimsy oversight, and the pursuit of government funds for scientific advancement, in part by pitching research of steeply escalating risk.” It is based on dozens of interviews and more than 100,000 leaked internal documents.
The research did not provide convincing evidence to support Daszak’s long-held claims that COVID was spread to people by an animal in a “natural overflow” occurrence or that it spilled from trials in a Wuhan lab that closely collaborated with EcoHealth.
It does, however, describe the extent to which Daszak and Dr. Anthony Fauci, whose organization assisted in funding his study, went in an effort to refute the lab-origin explanation and minimize the possible significance of the dangerous research that EcoHealth backed in Wuhan.
To develop a form of pandemic early-warning system, the National Institutes of Health authorized a $3.7 million grant to EcoHealth in 2014 titled Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence.
The project entailed collecting bat coronaviruses in China for investigation at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), as well as combining parts of SARS-like viruses from other animals to produce a unique chimera that may directly infect human cells.
According to Jack Nunberg, director of the Montana Biotechnology Center, allowing such dangerous research to go at the Wuhan facility was “just stupid.”
Penrith Panthers players have let loose celebrating their Grand Final win with some of their stars leaving fans unimpressed with their Mad Monday antics.
The team have been celebrating non-stop since pulling off their second consecutive premiership win over the Parramatta Eels with a 28-12 victory on Sunday.
A long night of partying followed with team celebrations rolling into the early hours of the morning before picking up again for Mad Monday.
A bleary-eyed Nathan Clearly summed up the mix of exhaustion and exhilaration as he emerged shirtless from Penrith Leagues Club early on Monday.
Most of the team appears to have been on their best behaviour while some players and their conduct have caused a stir among their fans.
Jarome Luai scrambled to delete an Instagram post after using an offensive term while James Fisher-Harris showed up to a fan event with a vape in hand.
The 26-year-old front row enforcer was seen taking long drags on the electronic cigarette while supporters were nearby at the Panther’s home stadium BlueBet.
Fisher-Harris took the opportunity to play on the joke that the Eels are now the team’s ‘sons’, following Luai’s pre-game comments that the Panthers were the ‘daddy’.
‘I just want to say Parra are our sons,’ Fisher-Harris said.
‘Right here right now that’s just a fact.’
The comment saw fans break out in a chant saying ‘we hate Parra’ with players Jaeman Salmon and Liam Martin joining in the cheer.
‘As I said last night, we are the Penrith greatest team ever,’ Fisher-Harris added.
Jarome Luai had kick-started the ‘son’ joke in the lead up to the grand final.
When the five eighth was asked if Penrith is still the ‘little brother’ of the Parramatta team, Luai said: ‘You can call us daddy.’
Luai caused a stir following the grand final win after posting a photo of himself and teammates Jaeman Salmon celebrating in the dressing rooms.
He captioned the photo with the offensive term: ‘My n*****’.
The post was removed seven hours after it was posted early on Monday morning with the NRL integrity unit saying it is aware the post was made.
Panthers players have shared images and videos of them celebrating loudly and proudly into the night back at Penrith Leagues club.
They wore aviator sunglasses in tribute to their favourite movie of the year, Top Gun: Maverick. They shared a shooey with AFL legend Bam Bam Tuivasa.
Many of the players took the time to honour their families and partners with Viliame Kikau posting that it was the ‘best feeling ever’.
Some players lit up giant victory cigars, others like James Fisher-Harris celebrated with vape devices.
Backrower Viliame Kikau, who is set to leave the team next year, was not at Monday’s fan event.
Last night Panthers fans saw snippets of the team’s wild celebration night online.
Photos showed Luai smoking a cigar next to the premiership trophy, UFC star Bam Bam Tuivasa drinking a shoey and team members leaving their home Leagues Club late Monday morning.
Panthers Chairman Matt Cameron said this year’s grand final win was extra special because it was on home turf.
‘Obviously in 2020 we did it with reduced capacities at the ground and in 2021 they were in Brisbane,’ he told Today.
‘The community didn’t get to celebrate it the way they wanted to. Last night was a great opportunity. You have heard Ivan speak before, we pride ourselves on the club being a source of community pride. I think we were able to tick that box last night.’
Their win over Parramatta was one of the most one-sided grand finals this century, with only two late Eels tries breaking the blue-and-golds’ duck and reigning the margin in.
In this year alone the Panthers won every grade from the NRL down to under-18s, becoming the first club to do so in the game’s 115-season history.
NRL history shows that going back-to-back is rare. Prior to the Panthers, only the Sydney Roosters had done it since the Super League.
No side however has won three straight titles in the past four years, with the great Eels team of the early 1980s the last team to do so.
Penrith will start next year as favorites to join them, and there is every chance their dynasty will last beyond that.
Leave a Reply