HHS Debars EcoHealth Alliance and Peter Daszak for Five Years Over Wuhan Gain-of-Function Research, Citing U.S. Taxpayer Funds

Jan 18, 2025, 04:29 AM

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has cut off all funding and formally debarred EcoHealth Alliance Inc. and its former President, Dr. Peter Daszak, for five years. This decision follows an eight-month investigation by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which uncovered evidence that EcoHealth and Daszak facilitated gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China without proper oversight and violated multiple requirements of its multimillion-dollar National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant. The debarment was announced after EcoHealth terminated Dr. Daszak's employment effective January 6, 2024. House Oversight Chairman James Comer stated that the decision is a victory for U.S. taxpayers, American national security, and global safety, emphasizing that EcoHealth and Daszak should never again receive U.S. taxpayer funds given the likely origin of COVID-19 from a lab-related incident involving gain-of-function research.