free thoughtpolice wrote: ↑
As to the claim that virologists didn't predict the current pandemic:
https://grantome.com/grant/NIH/R01-AI110964-06
Fauci also warned that a pandemic was inevitable a few years ago. After the SARS incident it was widely stated among the med research community that there would be a similar outbreak. Years ago there were people in the Chinese countryside that had been exposed to viruses similar to SARS and Covid.
Okaaaayyyy..... ???....
So you linked to Peter Daszak of the EcoHealth Alliance.
What do you think you've proved? You haven't provided a coherent story-- showing Trump doing some dumb anti-science thing.
Thru 2019 The Trump Administration and EcoHealth Alliance got along fine. According to the EHA website: " Our research was reviewed by independent scientists, considered extremely high priority by NIHNIAID Strategic Plan for COVID-19 Research, and funded in 2019."
(NIHNIAID is Dr. Fauci's organization)
Then came Covid-19 & the US Govt became concerned about EHA's collaboration with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, due to WIV's role in the origin (and cover-up) of Covid-19. Trump suspended any US funds which were shared with the Wuhan Institute. Which included funding for EcoHealth Alliance's collaboration with the Wuhan Institute.
This is how your guy Daszak described his response to the NIH defunding: " In the first email, "they said, 'Can you not send funds to the Wuhan Institute of Virology?' " he recalls. "We wrote back straight away and said, 'Of course we won't [fund them]. Absolutely.' "
However, Daszak sought to continue his organizations's collaboration with Wuhan Institute. Then State Dept cables from 2018 leaked to the Washington Post, showing safety concerns had been raised about Wuhan Institute's handling of viruses. Trump Admin & NIH went against EcoHealth's desire to continue to collaborate with Wuhan Institute, cut funding.
Initially, Daszak complained that further funding was needed to continue his EHA's fieldwork. But currently, his website says "our fieldwork is temporarily on pause due to the pandemic" and "we continue our fight against this and other emerging diseases, and look forward to continuing our international collaborations as soon as possible."
Trump's NIH has said they will reinstate funding for EHA's collaboration with Wuhan, when these conditions are met:
-The EcoHealth Alliance must provide a sample of the pandemic coronavirus that WIV used to determine its genetic sequence.
-The group must arrange for an outside inspection of WIV and its records “with specific attention to addressing the question of whether WIV staff had SARS-CoV-2 in their possession prior to December 2019,” Lauer wrote.
-The nonprofit must explain purported restrictions at WIV including “diminished cell-phone traffic in October 2019, and the evidence that there may have been roadblocks surrounding the facility from October 14-19, 2019.”
-The nonprofit must “provide the NIH with WIV’s responses to the 2018 Department of State cables regarding safety concerns.”
Let's go back to free_thoughtpolice's original claim:
Under a program instituted by Obama there was a pandemic plan and there were American scientists studying coronaviruses that was scrapped and defunded by Trump.
(((Service Dog: that much seems true, circa mid-2020. Buuuuttt...)))
If it had been continued very likely would have had samples of the virus and more early knowledge of what they were up against.
(((we would have had more samples of the virus, if funding hadn't been cut in mid-2020???)))
Because people in the program were monitoring the Chinese virologists that first identified the virus the US would have had a chance of knowing everything the Chinese learned contemporaneously and again gotten an earlier look at the problem.
(((only if EcoHealth has a time machine. Funding was only cut well-after Wuhan Institute's mishandling of the crisis.)))