Tag: National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

NIH Renews Controversial Grant to EcoHealth for Coronavirus Bat Study

National Institute of Health (NIH) officials have re-activated a previously terminated $576,290 federal grant to EcoHealth Alliance to study how outbreaks of deadly viruses like SARS, MERS, and now COVID-19 originate from wildlife and transfers to humans. The move has prompted one Republican lawmaker to demand that NIH explain the decision she described as “absolutely…


US Animal Welfare Organization Calls for Shipment of 1,000 Lab Monkeys Not to Be Returned to Cambodia

An animal welfare organization is calling for a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)-funded biomedical research company not to return a shipment of over 1,000 monkeys back to Cambodia after federal agencies flagged the shipment last year. Liz Tyson Griffin, programs director and head of sanctuary at Born Free USA, said in a…


US Begins Trials for Japanese COVID-19 Antiviral Drug Xocova

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is conducting a multi-site clinical trial to evaluate Shionogi & Co.’s Xocova COVID-19 antiviral drug to determine its effectiveness in improving care for afflicted individuals. Xocova, also known as ensitrelvir fumaric acid or S-217622, was discovered by Osaka-based Shionogi and Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan. The trial will be…


COVID Shutdowns Should Be ‘Temporary,’ Chinese Lockdowns ‘Draconian,’ Lab Leak ‘Possible’: Fauci

Anthony Fauci, the outgoing medical adviser for President Joe Biden, criticized China’s handling of COVID-related shutdowns in recent interviews, and said that the lab leak theory could be “possible” but “essentially molecularly impossible.” Fauci will step down next month as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and as the…


Florida Congressman Calls for End to ‘Unconscionably Cruel Animal Experiments’

Lawmakers continue to prod the National Institute of Health (NIH) regarding what has been described as “unconscionably cruel animal experiments” based on documents obtained by a watchdog group that monitors government spending. Legislation introduced by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) on Aug. 10 proposes to prohibit NIH’s experiments on dogs paid for by taxpayer dollars. “The…


Fauci Set to Receive Fatter Retirement Pension Than President’s Annual Salary

Dr. Anthony Fauci will receive a tax-paid annual federal retirement pension benefit of $414,667—more than the President’s $400,000 annual salary—if he leaves the civil service service in January 2025, as he has said he plans to do, according to the nonprofit government watchdog Open the Books (OTB). While the specific details of an individual federal…