HHS Bars EcoHealth, Peter Daszak From Receiving Federal Funds for 5 Years

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has formally banned pandemic research nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance and its former president, Peter Daszak, from receiving federal funding for five years. The House Oversight Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic revealed the decision on Jan. 17, providing a letter from HHS to EcoHealth Alliance—along with a separate letter to Daszak. “After considering the information in the administrative record in this matter, including the information presented in the above-mentioned responses, I have determined that a period of debarment for Dr. Daszak is necessary to protect the Federal Government’s business interests,” an HHS official, whose name was redacted, wrote in one of the letters. A nearly identical justification featured in the other letter....