NIAID-funded Coronavirus Gain-of-function Research Data
| Tracking # |
55702 |
| Submitted | Jan. 7, 2021 |
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Communications
From: Patrick Henry
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Records relating to project #2R01AI110964-06 "UNDERSTANDING THE RISK OF BAT CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCE" and related NIAID-funded research on coronavirus, specifically a list of any experiments performed in or before 2019 that either did or could conceivably have resulted in coronavirus variants with potential for zoonotic transmission to humans, and information about any virus variants arising from that research. In particular I request the publication of any information NIAID may have on the level of similarity or dissimilarity of early strains of SARS-nCoV-2 (also known as 2019-nCoV) to any viral gene sequences arising from this project or similar projects it has funded.
There has been widespread speculation in the press that this project in particular caused the current pandemic, resulting in the deaths of 1.8 million people worldwide, including over 350,000 people in the USA. While projectreporter.nih.gov lists several research papers arising from this project, including the paper "Opinion: Sustainable development must account for pandemic risk," none specifically list experiments performed under this or similar contracts to address whether or not that research did in fact cause the pandemic. Given that SARS-nCoV-2 has now been thoroughly sequenced, NIAID should by now - as the funding agency for this gain of function research - have data that could be used to publicly dispute such speculation - the silence of NIAID on this matter is unfortunate and damaging both from a public policy perspective and from a global public health perspective.
I am filing this request as a member of the general public, not as a journalist, and I respectfully request that any fees arising from this request be waived as the full and open publication of this information is clearly in the public interest as it could put to rest speculation that the US Government is directly or indirectly responsible for the current pandemic.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Patrick Henry
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Dear Mr. Henry,
Attached please find our acknowledgement of your FOIA Case No. 55702.
Regards,
Lauren Bartok
Government Information Specialist
NIAID FOIA Office, OCGR, NIAID, NIH
5601 Fishers Lane, Room 6G50
Rockville, MD 20852
301-451-5109
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 7, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #55702.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Good morning Mr. Henry,
Your request is in our queue and we are waiting for records. Please be advised that there are currently 8 requests ahead of yours. Once we receive the records we will review them and get them to you as quickly as possible.
Thank you,
Lauren Bartok
Government Information Specialist
NIAID FOIA Office, OCGR, NIAID, NIH
5601 Fishers Lane, Room 6G50
Rockville, MD 20852
301-451-5109
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~WRD0001
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 7, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #55702.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Good afternoon Mr. Henry,
Your request is in our queue and we are waiting for records. Please be advised that there are currently 7 requests ahead of yours. Once we receive the records we will review them and get them to you as quickly as possible. I do not have an estimate for you at this time.
Thank you,
Lauren Bartok
Government Information Specialist
NIAID FOIA Office, OCGR, NIAID, NIH
5601 Fishers Lane, Room 6G50
Rockville, MD 20852
301-451-5109
-
~WRD0459
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 7, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #55702.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Good morning Mr. Henry,
Your request is in our queue and we are waiting for records. Please be advised that there are currently 4 requests ahead of yours. Once we receive the records we will review them and get them to you as quickly as possible. I do not have an estimate for you at this time.
Thank you,
Lauren Bartok
Government Information Specialist
NIAID FOIA Office, OCGR, NIAID, NIH
5601 Fishers Lane, Room 6G50
Rockville, MD 20852
301-451-5109
-
~WRD0000
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 7, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #55702.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Good morning Mr. Henry,
Your request has been transferred to the NIH FOIA Office for further review and processing. I have copied them on this email so that they can provide a status update on your case.
Thank you,
Lauren Bartok
Government Information Specialist
NIAID FOIA Office, OCGR, NIAID, NIH
5601 Fishers Lane, Room 6G50
Rockville, MD 20852
301-451-5109
-
~WRD0000
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 7, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #55702.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 7, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #55702.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Good Afternoon,
Your request is in the queue for review behind all other requests received ahead of it. It will be reviewed on a first-in, first-out basis, per HHS FOIA guidelines.
Once review begins, we will be able to provide you with a more accurate estimated completion date.
Thank you.
Roger Bordine
Program Support
Freedom of Information Office
National Institutes of Health
Building 31, Room 5B35
31 Center Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892
Phone: 301-496-5633
Fax: 301-402-4541
Roger.bordine@nih.gov<mailto:Roger.bordine@nih.gov>
[National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Turning Discovery Into Health]<http://www.nih.gov/>
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 7, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #55702.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Good Afternoon,
Your request is still in the queue for review behind all other requests received ahead of it. The records will be under final review following the first-in, first-out basis, per HHS FOIA guidelines.
Thank you.
Roger Bordine
Program Support
Freedom of Information Office
National Institutes of Health
Building 31, Room 5B35
31 Center Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892
Phone: 301-496-5633
Fax: 301-402-4541
Roger.bordine@nih.gov<mailto:Roger.bordine@nih.gov>
[National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Turning Discovery Into Health]<http://www.nih.gov/>
From: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Good Afternoon,
Please see the attached final letter in response to your NIH FOIA request.
Thank you.
Roger Bordine
Program Support
Freedom of Information Office
National Institutes of Health
Building 31, Room 5B35
31 Center Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892
Phone: 301-496-5633
Fax: 301-402-4541
Roger.bordine@nih.gov<mailto:Roger.bordine@nih.gov>
[National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Turning Discovery Into Health]<http://www.nih.gov/>
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