Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., filed a criminal referral with the Department of Justice against Anthony Fauci for allegedly lying to Congress about the National Institutes of Health’s gain-of-function research. While we don’t desire to see Fauci imprisoned, the complaint demonstrates the severity of the NIH’s deficiencies and the need for sweeping reform.
Any honest assessment of the NIH’s pandemic performance would give it a poor grade. While NIH support for the rapid development of the Covid vaccine deserves some credit, the NIH failed in almost every other aspect of its contribution to the pandemic response.
With the recent appointment of a new NIH director to replace Francis Collins and a new National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director to replace Anthony Fauci, the time is now to reflect and for Congress to enact structural reforms. But what needs fixing? The most crucial priority is to remove fundamental conflicts of interest brought to light by abuses of these positions by Collins and Fauci.
Scientific Research vs. Public Health Strategy
During a pandemic emergency, there is a need for urgent scientific research and an open and robust debate on the most appropriate science-based public health policy. The former is the responsibility of the NIH, while the latter is the responsibility of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments. If those responsible for public health policy also hold the purse strings of research funding, most scientists will not dare to criticize the hand that feeds them,
