White House touts Covid-19 'lab leak' theory on new website

[xocetaceans]

14. Under President Obama, there was a pause on GOF research. That was lifted after NIH had completed its study of how to...

...safely perform GOF research. This was the notice from the NIH and what follows is a link to the P3CO from the Obama White House's archive.

December 19, 2017
NIH Lifts Funding Pause on Gain-of-Function Research

Today, the National Institutes of Health announced that it is lifting a funding pause dating back to October 2014 on gain-of-function (GOF) experiments involving influenza, SARS, and MERS viruses. GOF research is important in helping us identify, understand, and develop strategies and effective countermeasures against rapidly evolving pathogens that pose a threat to public health. The funding pause was lifted in response to today’s release of the Department of Health and Human Services Framework for Guiding Funding Decisions about Proposed Research Involving Enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogens (link is external)(HHS P3CO Framework).

...

We have a responsibility to ensure that research with infectious agents is conducted responsibly, and that we consider the potential biosafety and biosecurity risks associated with such research. I am confident that the thoughtful review process laid out by the HHS P3CO Framework will help to facilitate the safe, secure, and responsible conduct of this type of research in a manner that maximizes the benefits to public health.

I would especially like to acknowledge the efforts of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine(link is external) for their thoughtful deliberations on the issues surrounding this important area of research. The work of these committees was instrumental in guiding the United States Government in its job of creating rigorous policy that allows vital research to move forward.

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Institutes of Health

https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements/nih-lifts-funding-pause-gain-function-research

HHS P3CO Framework (This is linked to the National Archive's website and has the January 2017 PDF from the Obama White House.)

If ones listens to what Dr. Baric had to say back in late 2014, it should be clear that what is referred loosely to as GOF research is a valuable tool for surveillance and for establishing treatments (see from 8:09 to 17:25 in the video, and take particular note of his last slide):

Which "most agree" do you mean? How about an actual citation which would support that claim that Wuhan should have been working in BSL-4?

Here, for example, is the policy of the CDC:

Laboratory Biosafety Guidelines for working with SARS-CoV-2

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SARS-CoV-2 specific guidance

To determine appropriate biosafety mitigation measures, laboratories should perform an activity-specific comprehensive risk assessment that evaluates laboratory facilities, personnel and training, practices and techniques, safety equipment, engineering controls, and other risk mitigation measures. Biosafety professionals, laboratory management, and scientific and safety experts should be involved in the comprehensive risk assessment process.

At a minimum, BSL-2 facilities, practices, and procedures are recommended for diagnostic research, anatomic pathology, environmental, and virus propagation activities utilizing SARS-CoV-2. At a minimum, ABSL-2 is recommended for work with these viruses in animal models.

...

https://www.cdc.gov/covid/php/lab/index.html

As is clear from the CDC website, BSL-2 and ABSL-2 are noted as the minima, not BSL-4.

One other note is that your assertion of the statement "So Ralph Baric of UNC started coordinating with Wuhan." seems to be incorrect: the implication in your post is that that happened after and as a consequence of 2014's pause of GOF research, but as is noted in your later post in this thread:

" “In 2013, the American virologist Ralph Baric approached Zhengli Shi at a meeting. ...." "

Basically, between the nonspecific, hyperbolic terminology ("scary", "unknown", "severe", "weird" ) that is present in your posts in this thread and the factual inaccuracies that are also present ( "bio 4 (sic) labs", "he (Trump) reversed", "2014" ), it seems that you really have not followed what happened with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic closely enough to comment in an informed manner about it. You cite nearly nothing and seem to write in such a way to provoke fear and conspiracy theory. If you are able to take the time to understand his presentation, taking the time to listen to Dr. Baric's presentation from 2014 in the above video might clarify the issue.