Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) launched a comprehensive criticism of gain-of-function research and its significant funding contributors in a Sunday morning interview with Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo, reigniting the debate on the origins of the COVID-19 virus and exposing the alarming risks this kind of research poses to humanity.
Paul’s contention targets two key figures: Dr. Anthony Fauci, former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director, and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates. The senator accuses Fauci of circumventing rules to fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. At the same time, Gates, according to Paul, is “the largest funder of trying to find these viruses in remote caves and bring them to big cities.”
This should actually say 3 years. See literally everything I’ve said about COVID since 2020 for more information. https://t.co/lClcEIjpPZ
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 18, 2023
Paul acknowledges Gates’ intentions might be “well-intended.” However, he strongly warns of the dangers associated with the billionaire’s funding endeavors, saying, “They bring viruses that we may never interact with. They bring them back to the lab, but then they manipulate them by combining them with other viruses to create viruses that don’t exist in nature.”
These cautionary words underscore Paul’s growing concerns about the potential for these artificially created viruses to escape the lab and trigger catastrophic pandemics. He parallels this risk with the severity of nuclear war, clarifying the monumental impact artificial viruses could have on the global population.
Furthermore, he highlights the suspected role of the Wuhan lab in the COVID-19 pandemic’s origin. He warns of a more disastrous outcome should a similar incident occur. “There are people estimating that the next time this happens, the next time we have a leak from a lab, that between five and 50% of the population could die from another man-made virus,” Paul said.
Addressing the scrutiny surrounding Dr. Fauci’s involvement, Paul stresses that the former NIAID director was aware of his funding role and evaded regulations that would have otherwise imposed stricter scrutiny. As Paul noted, Fauci once suggested that even if a pandemic were to result from this research, the knowledge gained would be worth it, a stance which Paul suggests a considerable number of Americans would vigorously disagree with.
In light of these troubling assertions, Paul calls for establishing an “international consortium of countries” to collectively limit the practice of gain-of-function research, emphasizing the necessity of global cooperation in the face of such a looming threat.
Paul’s warnings aren’t a matter of partisan politics but a call for transparency and collective action in the face of a potential catastrophe that could very well eclipse the damage wrought by the current pandemic.
