US government suspends fundingxa0forxa0virus research group at center of Covid-19 origin controversy

The US Department of Health and Human Services has suspended funding to a virus research organization due to controversy over the origins of Covid-19. The agency also proposed a future block on federal funds to the group. The organization had received a US government grant to study bat coronaviruses at a lab in Wuhan, China before the pandemic. The US had previously suspended funding to the group but later reinstated it. The HHS has cited several reasons for its decision, including failures to adequately monitor virus growth and provide requested information. The organization plans to contest the proposed debarment.