As Republicans probe COVID’s origins, some see an attack on science; others say it’s long overdue

As Republicans probe COVID’s origins, some see an attack on science; others say it’s long overdue toggle caption Andrew Harnik/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images At the start of a hearing on COVID’s origins last month, Ohio Republican Brad Wenstrup said that the committee was not out to attack science. He also helped organize a letter in the Lancet that labeled the idea of a laboratory origin for the COVID virus as a “conspiracy theory.” toggle caption HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images/AFP But Daszak’s connections to the Wuhan Institute of Virology brought scrutiny, particularly from the political right. Sponsor Message Daszak says that Morens never directly supervised EcoHealth grants, and that the pair wasn’t conducting official communications via Gmail. “David Morens was not and is not involved in the management of any of EcoHealth Alliance’s NIH grants or awards,” he says. It’s an unfounded claim that Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene openly hinted at during the May 22 hearing: “I personally believe that Peter Daszak at EcoHealth had a lot to do with the fact that COVID was raging,” Greene said.