US oversight of high-risk research on viruses and bacteria with pandemic inducing potential—such as the virus that causes Covid-19—falls short of an effective program, a government watchdog concluded.
The Government Accountability Office evaluated the Department of Health and Human Services’ framework for evaluating research on highly contagious pathogens that can cause severe illness or death, and detailed its findings in a report released Wednesday. The department requires researchers conducing these types of studies to undergo an extra layer of review within the HHS to assess the risks and benefits of running that study. That review happens after the study passes ...