Sens. Marshall, Blackburn, Grassley Demand Answers on China's Involvement in NIH Deleting COVID Data

U.S. Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (KS), Marsha Blackburn (TN), and Chuck Grassley (IA) SENT A LETTER to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D demanding answers on the actions taken by Chinese researchers to have NIH delete COVID-19 related data.

"On June 23, 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese researchers "directed" the National Institutes of Health (NIH) "to delete gene sequences of early COVID-19 cases from a key scientific database called the NIH Sequence Read Archive…The efforts by Chinese researchers to delete the data demands additional explanation. As you are aware, the Chinese government has failed, from the beginning, to be open and transparent with the world with respect to its role in the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more than 600,000 deaths, and Congress has spent trillions of dollars to support the American people, businesses, and the economy during these difficult times. Simply put, the American people deserve to know what their government knows about the origins of this global illness. As part of our continuing oversight with respect to NIH's role during the COVID-19 pandemic, we request additional information about the NIH Sequence Read Archive and the actions taken by Chinese researchers to have NIH delete SARS CoV 2 related data."

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