Elon Musk: “Gain-of-Function”…. Another Way of Saying “Bioweapon” in Criticism of Fauci

As we await the next TWITTER FILES drop surrounding COVID-19, Elon Musk fired a scathing shot at Anthony Fauci.

Much more to The Twitter Files: Covid Editon than this introductory thread.

Follow-up piece to come next week, featuring leading doctors & researchers from Harvard, Stanford & other institutions. https://t.co/TeEeCvMZa2

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 26, 2022

On Wednesday, Musk called out Fauci for gain-of-function research and the conflict of interest regarding his wife.

“Almost no one seems to realize that the head of bioethics at NIH – the person who is supposed to make sure that Fauci behaves ethically – is his wife,” Musk tweeted.

Almost no one seems to realize that the head of bioethics at NIH – the person who is supposed to make sure that Fauci behaves ethically – is his wife 🧐 https://t.co/CpWHNCqc8y

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 28, 2022

“Christine Grady is an American nurse and bioethicist who serves as the head of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center,” according to Wikipedia.

Musk also criticized Fauci for his role in pushing gain-of-function research.

The Twitter CEO referred to gain-of-function as a “bioweapon,” referencing a 2021 National Review article.

“‘Gain-of-function’ in this context is just another way of saying ‘bioweapon.’ Some good nuggets in article. Important to note that Fauci authored 2012 paper arguing for gain-of-function research! Obama wisely put this on pause, but Fauci restarted it,” Musk explained.

“Despite these glaring issues, Twitter nonetheless had an internal Slack channel unironically called ‘Fauci Fan Club.'”

“Gain-of-function” in this context is just another way of saying “bioweapon”.

Some good nuggets in article. Important to note that Fauci authored 2012 paper arguing for gain-of-function research!

Obama wisely put this on pause, but Fauci restarted it.https://t.co/v18oaE3zkf

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 28, 2022

I invite @CommunityNotes to correct or amend this thread

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 28, 2022

The National Review article references a resurfaced paper from 2012, where Fauci argued that the benefits of gain-of-function research outweighed the risks of a potential pandemic-causing lab accident.

Despite the risks involved, Fauci called gain-of-function experiments “important work” in his 2012 writing.

The National Review shared Fauci’s writing:

In an unlikely but conceivable turn of events, what if that scientist becomes infected with the virus, which leads to an outbreak and ultimately triggers a pandemic? Many ask reasonable questions: given the possibility of such a scenario – however remote – should the initial experiments have been performed and/or published in the first place, and what were the processes involved in this decision?

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Scientists working in this field might say – as indeed I have said – that the benefits of such experiments and the resulting knowledge outweigh the risks. It is more likely that a pandemic would occur in nature, and the need to stay ahead of such a threat is a primary reason for performing an experiment that might appear to be risky.

Within the research community, many have expressed concern that important research progress could come to a halt just because of the fear that someone, somewhere, might attempt to replicate these experiments sloppily. This is a valid concern.

“The Weekend Australian report adds that Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, did not alert senior White House officials before lifting a ban on gain-of-function research in 2017,” the National Review added.

Although the Obama administration paused gain-of-function research experiments in 2014, the NIH diverted funds to the Wuhan Lab through EcoHealth Alliance in the form of sub-grants from 2014 to 2019 to study bat coronaviruses.

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