There is no longer any way to hide the facts about Fauci's funding of the lab that developed the covid virus.
What's the row about virus research in China between a prominent Republican and Dr Anthony Fauci?
www.bbc.com
As the debate continues over the origins of the coronavirus, a heated political battle is taking place over virus research carried out in China using US funds.
It's linked to the unproven theory that the virus
could have leaked from a lab in Wuhan, the Chinese city where it was first detected.
A report released by Republican lawmakers cites "ample evidence" that the lab was working to modify coronaviruses to infect humans and calls for a bipartisan investigation into its origins.
Republican Senator Rand Paul also alleges that US money was used to fund research there that made some viruses more infectious and more deadly, a process known as "gain-of-function".
But this has been firmly rejected by Dr Anthony Fauci, the US infectious diseases chief.
What is 'gain-of-function' research?
"Gain-of-function" is when an organism develops new abilities (or "functions").
This can happen in nature, or it can be achieved in a lab, when scientists modify the genetic code or place organisms in different environments, to change them in some way.
Getty Images
Modifying organisms can be a way to combat diseases like malaria
For example, this might involve
scientists trying to create drought-resistant plants or modify disease vectors in mosquitoes to make them less likely to pass on infections.
With viruses that could pose a risk to human health, it means developing viruses that are potentially more transmissible and dangerous.
Scientists justify the potential risks by saying the research can help prepare for future outbreaks and pandemics by understanding how viruses evolve, and therefore develop better treatments and vaccines.
Did the US fund virus research in China?
Yes, it did contribute some funds.
Dr Fauci, as well as being an adviser to President Biden, is the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US government's National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Reuters
Lab-leak theories centre on the Wuhan Institute of Virology
This body did give money to an organisation that collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
That organisation - the US-based EcoHealth Alliance - was awarded a grant in 2014
to look into possible coronaviruses from bats.
EcoHealth received $3.7m from the NIH, $600,000 of which was given to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
In 2019, its project was renewed for another five years, but then pulled by the Trump administration in April 2020 following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Was US money used for 'gain-of-function' studies?
Getty Images
Senator Rand Paul believes US money helped create dangerous viruses
In May, Dr Fauci stated that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) "has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology".