NIH pandemic royalties: Fauci under scrutiny for $710m windfall
Data from the National Institutes of Health shows that the agency and its scientists collected as much as $710 million during the pandemic over two years. This is a staggering amount. Until now, the institute concealed this information, but Anthony Fauci, one of the leading infectious disease experts, will now have to explain.
The coronavirus pandemic claimed many lives. According to data from mid-2023, as many as 7 million people might have died from COVID-19. It is widely believed that the virus first appeared in November 2019 at a food market in Wuhan, China, and within a few months, it reached Europe and North America. Many countries resorted to lockdowns in fear of the pandemic's spread. Vaccines became the salvation.
According to the New York Post, the National Institutes of Health earned at least $710 million in royalties. These earnings came from payments made by private companies, such as pharmaceutical firms, to license medical innovations. This only pertains to the period from the end of 2021 to 2023.
Almost the entire amount, $690 million, went to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci and 260 of his scientists. The portal notes that during the pandemic, there was more than a twofold increase in the flow of money from the NIH to the private sector, amounting to as much as $1 billion.
Coronavirus pandemic: The secret of NIH
It is currently unknown whether the figures include royalty fees from vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, American pharmaceutical companies that were the first to deliver vaccines.
The New York Post notes that Dr. Fauci testified before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on the Pandemic. For years, according to the portal, he mocked questions about potential conflicts of interest between COVID policy decision-makers, who relentlessly pushed for vaccines, and the recipients of private royalties.
The New York Post adds that the NIH is hiding many important pieces of information. The institute does not want to disclose the amount of fees paid to each scientist.
