Redfield: The NIH Can’t Safely Fund Gain-of-Function Research Around the World

On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said that there should be a moratorium on gain-of-function research because “it’s unlikely” that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) could ever provide the needed level of supervision to do this research all around the world and do so safely.

Redfield stated, “I think we have to be realistic. I think it’s — personally, I think it’s unlikely that the NIH would ever be able to provide the appropriate level of supervision that would be necessary for this what I consider very high-risk research, this is why Dr. Siegel and I in our op-ed in The Wall Street Journal really strongly recommended that we have a moratorium on this gain-of-function research and have a much broader debate about whether this research should be conducted and if so, how and where can it be done safely. Very disappointing to see the lack of adherence to their own policies…a very damning report, a very disappointing report. But I just want to underscore, I think it’s unrealistic for us to think that we can fund this type of high-risk research all over the world and maintain the supervision that it would require to make sure it’s done in a safe and responsible way.”

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