Based on the provided search results, there is evidence that some U.S. tax dollars indirectly funded gain-of-function research on coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China, though there is disagreement over the extent and intent of this research.
The key points are:
1. The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided grant funding to the EcoHealth Alliance, a U.S.-based research organization. EcoHealth Alliance then contracted some of this research work to the WIV.[1][2]
2. Documents show that under this NIH grant, researchers at the WIV conducted experiments that involved modifying bat coronaviruses and testing their ability to infect humanized mice. Some of these modified viruses showed increased pathogenicity and viral load compared to the original bat virus.[2]
3. Several scientists consulted by The Intercept stated that this type of research meets the definition of gain-of-function, as it involved modifying viruses to make them more pathogenic or transmissible.[2]
4. However, the NIH, EcoHealth Alliance, and Dr. Fauci maintained that this research did not qualify as gain-of-function under NIH’s policies and guidelines at the time.[1][2]
5. A 2023 GAO report confirmed that the NIH provided $200,000 in grant funding to Wuhan University, but did not specify if any funds went directly to the WIV.[3]
6. Congressional investigations alleged that documents showed NIH grants supported the construction of lab-generated coronaviruses that could infect human cells, suggesting gain-of-function research occurred at the WIV.[4]
So in summary, while there is evidence that U.S. funding indirectly supported research at the WIV that some scientists consider gain-of-function, there is disagreement over whether this work met the specific definitions and policies around gain-of-function research at the time.[1][2][4]
Citations:
[1] https://www.factcheck.org/2021/05/the-wuhan-lab-and-the-gain-of-function-disagreement/
[2] https://theintercept.com/2021/09/09/covid-origins-gain-of-function-research/
[3] https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-106119.pdf
[4] https://www.congress.gov/117/meeting/house/114270/documents/HHRG-117-GO24-20211201-SD004.pdf