Category: Corona Virus

A new group of Covid-19 variants, collectively known as 'FLiRT' is spreading across the US, and has created a significant fear of a new summer wave. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FLiRT strains KP.2, KP.1.1, and KP.3 are the reason for nearly half of the Covid positive cases in the US. Since the early spring, these new strains have begun acting up, after which their cluster was collectively coined FLiRT.

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Time to stop 'FLiRT'ing: Here is what we know about the Covid variant - The Economic Times

The new FLiRT variants of COVID-19 are evading preexisting immunity but current strains do not appear to be cause for increased caution or additional safety policies for the time being.

According to a Maryland Matters article, new strains of the COVID-19 virus are causing an increase in cases but not at an alarming rate. There is the potential for greater caution later in 2025 when the cooler months begin to set it, but currently the Maryland Department of Health is maintaining course.

Vaccination is still recommended as the best protection against severe illness, hospitalization or death from COVID-19, said Chase Cook, the departments communications director, in a written statement.

Andrew Pekosz, professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, agrees that while the new strains present challenges, current antivirals will still fight off symptoms and COVID-19 test can still identify the virus.

Read the full Maryland Matters article.

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New COVID-19 Variants Are Not Prompting Public Health Policy Changes Conduit Street - Conduit Street

Even before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020, there were debates as to whereand howthe virus originated. Some cited the emergence of the earliest COVID cases in or around Wuhan, in China, as evidence of what came to be known as the lab leak theory of the diseases origin, since scientists had studied coronaviruses similar to the one that caused COVID at an institute in the city. However, most scientistsat least in the initial stages of the pandemicargued that COVID likely emerged in a manner similar to other diseases caused by coronaviruses: as a result of interspecies transmission, specifically at a so-called wet market in Wuhan, where live bats and other animals were sold.

That didnt stop members of the Trump administration from promoting the idea of a lab leak, which conveniently allowed the White House to shift blame for COVID to the Chinese government. As the virus continued to spread, so did various versions of the theory. In February 2021, Facebook finally announced that it would remove any posts suggesting that the COVID virus was man-made or manufactured, and said that it reserved the right to permanently remove any accounts or pages that repeatedly shared such claims. The ban, however, only lasted until May of the same year, when Meta, Facebooks parent company, said that it would no longer remove such claims, citing what it called ongoing investigations into the viruss origins.

Metas ban of the lab-leak theory and subsequent reversal were quickly incorporated into a conservative worldview in which so-called authorities on COVID were inherently untrustworthy. As my colleague Jon Allsop pointed out at the time, a wave of commentators (often, though by no means always, on the right) argued that the media had failed in its duty to report accurately on COVIDs origins, claiming that many journalists had inappropriately discounted the lab-leak argument as a racist conspiracy theory when in fact the science wasnt yet settled. (Matthew Yglesias described it as a genuinely catastrophic media fuckup and a huge fiasco.) As Allsop noted, however, the wave of commentary was not based on any new smoking gun proving that COVID had come from a lab. And so the debate over its origins continued.

Alongside this rational, if often heated, scientific disagreement about accidental emergence, darker theories about malign intentions spread. These included the outlandish idea that China and/or the US had developed COVID as a secret bioweapon. There were also whispers about a conspiracy among high-ranking officials including Anthony Fauci, then a top COVID adviser to President Biden, and the WHO to subjugate the worlds populace by spreading rumors of a pandemic that were unfounded to begin with.

This week, some such theories were in the news againthanks not to online extremists, but to members of Congress (not that those are mutually exclusive categories these days). The Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic called Faucinow retired, but still a boogeyman for right-wingersto testify, and grilled him about various aspects of his performance during the pandemic.

Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican who represents a district covering parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island, asked Fauci how much money he had received in royalties from pharmaceutical companies, implying that his advice about COVID was a quid pro quo; Fauci replied that he never received any money, aside from 122 dollars for a monoclonal antibody that he developed in the nineties. Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia, refused to address Fauci as doctor, saying that he didnt deserve such respect; she also shouted that he belongs in prison. And a research grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (which Fauci led) to an American nonprofit that partnered with scientists from the Wuhan virology lab (among other researchers) was offered as evidence that COVID not only originated in the lab but that the US was complicit. (In a post on X last year, Greene stated that the virus wasnt created by bats in a wet market, it was manufactured in a lab funded by Fauci. He covered it up.)

When Malliotakis asked about the lab-leak theory, Fauci responded that he remains open to the idea that COVID might have escaped from a lab. What is conspiracy, he said, is the kind of distortions of that particular subject, including the suggestion that I was parachuted into the CIA like Jason Bourne and told the CIA they shouldnt be talking about a lab leak. He also told the committee that he and his wife and three children continue to receive death threats, and that conspiracy theories about his involvement in the origins of COVID are part of the reason why.

In addition to this weeks congressional theater, right-wing politicians have claimed that Fauci played a key role in a coordinated campaign by the Biden administration to strong-arm Facebook and other social platforms into removing posts about vaccines, the lab-leak theory, and other controversial matters. These and other allegations were included in a lawsuit that the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana filed against the administration in 2022, in which they accused it of breaching the First Amendment by informally pressuring the platforms to restrict certain kinds of speech, a process known as jawboning. (I wrote about the case for CJR last July and again in March, after it reached the Supreme Court.)

The uncomfortable truth is that, four and a half years after COVID first appeared, there is still no consensus on where it originated, even if the deranged conspiracy theories about Fauci and others can be safely ruled out. Even scientists who specialize in virology cant seem to agree. Writing in the New York Times this week, a molecular biologist who works for an institute backed by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology argued that COVID most likely escaped from a lab, based on a number of points that she articulated. And yet, just hours after that op-ed was published, a virologist went through it point by point on X and argued that the evidence remains unclear. In a recently published survey of more than a hundred and fifty virologists, epidemiologists, and other researchers, a slim majority said they believe that COVID likely emerged naturally from transmission between infected animals.

Writing in Wired in 2021, Adam Rogers described the lab-leak theory as a tale of weaponized uncertainty. As Allsop also noted, Rogers wrote that the evidence either for or against the theory had not, to that point, changed since the spring of 2020. That evidence was always incomplete, and may never be complete. This is the nature of scientific inquiry, as Rogers noteda sometimes halting, two steps forward, one step back process of trying to arrive at the truth. For journalists, Allsop wrote that the path forward on the lab-leak story was the same as it always should have been: cover the context, respect the uncertainty, and report out the underpinning truth. As Rogers pointed out, though, some of those commenting on the theoryand its on-again, off-again status as a conspiracywerent actually interested in the truth. They wanted instead to amplify and in some cases even create doubt, and then leverage that doubt into power. Some of them, clearly, still do.

Part of the problem with stories like COVID is that the weaponization of uncertainty also plays into a horse race style of reporting that some outlets favor, in which both sides are assumed to be equally legitimate regardless of the facts, and every new development is seen as a win or a loss for one side or the other. In that sense, the lab leak is the perfect storm: since even scientists who specialize in viruses and epidemiology cant agree on how COVID originated, anything goes. All thats required is to pick a side, and then accuse those who disagree of being part of some dark cabal whose intentions fit your political narrative. And with each essay and political op-ed, the truth recedes a little furtheruntil, soon, it is completely out of sight.

Other notable stories:

ICYMI: Xiao Qiang on the anniversary of Tiananmen Square and the right to information in China

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On a congressional COVID hearing, and weaponized uncertainty - Columbia Journalism Review

Policymakers are being called on to investigate why data shows that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of deaths in addition to those expected to occur (or excess deaths) has remained high.

A data analysis of 47 countries found that of the 3,098,456 overall deaths from 2020-2022 in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, excess deaths reported each year were 87% (reported by 41 countries), 89% (reported by 42 countries) and 91% (reported by 43 countries) over the three-year period.

Greenland was the only country out of the 47 reporting no excess deaths during this time.

The findings by Dutch researchers come despite government policies to introduce containment measures and the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, prompting researchers to call on governments to thoroughly investigate the possible underlying causes of these deaths.

The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of the public health response to the pandemic by examining the rate of excess deaths.

A statistical method called Karlinsky and Kobaks estimate model was used to run the analysis of historical death data, accounting for seasonal variation and annual trends in deaths due to shifts in population.

The paper by researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Princess Mxima Center for Paediatric Oncology of The Netherlands was published in BMJ Public Health on Tuesday.

In the three years between 2020-2022 the researchers noted particular measures were introduced and could be considered against the rate of excess deaths.

For example, in 2020 when the pandemic started, a range of lock-downs, social distancing, school closures and quarantine measures were put in place. In this year 1,033,122 excess deaths (11.5% higher than expected) were recorded.

In the following year, 2021, the spread and infection of SARS-CoV-2 virus spread and infection was managed with containment measures and vaccines. In this year 1,256,942 excess deaths (just under 14% higher than expected) were reported.

In the third year most containment measures were lifted and vaccines continued to be rolled out. Preliminary data shows that 808,392 excess deaths were recorded.

The researchers noted that while it was unclear what proportion of excess deaths were directly caused by COVID-19, or potentially by the indirect effects of containment measures and vaccination programs.

This was because, for example, it was difficult show evidence of deaths caused by restricted healthcare use or socioeconomic upheaval.

The researchers added there was no doubt that indirect effects of containment measures affected the scale and nature of disease for many people who died.

Other challenges to the findings include incomplete data attributed to the time lags in registering and recording deaths, as well as differentials in how various nations compile their data (including the fact that the results do not break down key characteristics, such as age or sex).

The study was supported by funding from the Foundation World Child Cancer NL.

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Researchers flag concern as 'excess deaths' in the West remain high post-pandemic - The Mandarin

The mysterious death of a man in Mexico who had one kind of bird flu is unrelated to outbreaks of a different type at U.S. dairy farms, experts say.

Heres a look at the case and the different types of bird flu.

A 59-year-old man in Mexico who had been bedridden because of chronic health problems developed a fever, shortness of breath and diarrhea in April. He died a week later, and the World Health Organization this week reported it.

The WHO said it was the first time that version of bird flu H5N2 had been seen in a person.

A different version of bird flu H5N1 has been infecting poultry flocks over the last several years, leading to millions of birds being culled. It also has been spreading among all different kinds of animals around the world.

This year, that flu was detected in U.S. dairy farms. Dozens of herd have seen infections, most recently in Iowa and Minnesota.

The cow outbreak has been tied to three reported illnesses in farmworkers, one in Texas and two in Michigan. Each had only mild symptoms.

So-called influenza A viruses are the only viruses tied to human flu pandemics, so their appearance in animals and people is a concern. These viruses are divided into subtypes based on what kinds of proteins they have on their surface hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N).

Scientists say there are 18 different H subtypes and 11 different N subtypes, and they appear in scores of combinations. H1N1 and H3N2 are common causes of seasonal flu among humans. There are many versions seen in animals as well.

H5N1, the version that has worried some U.S. scientists lately, historically has been seen mainly in birds, but has in recent years has spread to a wide variety of mammals.

H5N2 has long been seen in Mexican poultry, and farms vaccinate against it.

It's also no stranger to the United States. An H5N2 outbreak hit a flock of 7,000 chickens in south-central Texas in 2004, the first time in two decades a dangerous-to-poultry avian flu appeared in the U.S.

H5N2 also was mainly responsible for a wave outbreaks at U.S. commercial poultry farms in 2014 and 2015.

Over the years, H5N2 has teetered between being considered a mild threat to birds and a severe threat, but it hasn't been considered much of a human threat at all.

A decade ago, researchers used mice and ferrets to study the strain afflicting U.S. poultry at the time, and concluded it was less likely to spread and less lethal than H5N1. Officials also said there was no evidence it was spreading among people.

Rare cases of animal infections are reported each year, so it's not unexpected that a person was diagnosed with H5N2.

"If youre a glass half full kind of person, youd say, This is the system doing exactly what its supposed to do: detecting and documenting these rare human infections, where years ago we were stumbling in the dark, said Matthew Ferrari, director of Penn State's Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics.

Indeed, Mexico Health Secretary Jorge Alcocer said kidney and respiratory failure not the virus actually caused the man's death.

Some experts said it is noteworthy that it's not known how he caught the man caught H5N2.

The fact there was no reported contact (with an infected bird) does raise the possibility that he was infected by someone else who visited him, but its premature to jump to those conclusions, said Richard Webby, a flu researcher at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis.

At this point, H5N2 is still considered a minor threat compared to some of the other kinds of bird flu out there. Most human illnesses have been attributed to H7N9, H5N6 and H5N1 bird flu viruses.

From early 2013 through October 2017, five outbreaks of H7N9 were blamed for killing more than 600 people in China. And at least 18 people in China died during an outbreak of H5N6 in 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

H5N1 was first identified in 1959, but didn't really began to worry health officials until a Hong Kong outbreak in 1997 that involved severe human illnesses and deaths.

H5N1 cases have continued since then, the vast majority of them involving direct contact between people and infected animals. Globally, more than 460 human deaths have been identified since 2003, according to WHO statistics that suggest it can kill as many as half of the people reported to be infected.

Like other viruses, H5N1 as evolved over time, spawning newer versions of itself. In the last few years, the predominant version of the virus has spread quickly among a wide range of animals, but counts of human fatalities have slowed.

Associated Press writer Mara Verza in Mexico City contributed to this story.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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What is the Mexican H5N2 bird flu and how different is it from the one found in the US? - NBC Chicago

The federal government and vaccine makers are getting a new COVID-19 vaccine ready for the fall. An advisory panel at the FDA this week voted on which strains of the virus to target in an updated formulation for the fall. And representatives from vaccine manufacturers Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax told the panel they can get shots in arms by September.

So its a good time to start thinking about where you and your loved ones are at on your COVID-19 vaccines. Here is some advice from public health experts.

COVID-19 cases are ticking up again after reaching a seasonal low in April. Greater Boston wastewater data show a similar trend to what we saw last summer when there was a slow climb into early fall. And, if this winter is like the last two, we can expect a short-lived spike in cases after holiday get-togethers.

Dr. Shira Doron, chief infection control officer at Tufts Medicine, says its still unclear to her what factors could be behind that apparent pattern.

Why have we been seeing a spike in the winter and a summer wave? Is it the season? Is it the weather? Is it human behavior related to weather or holidays? Or is it simply variant evolution? said Doron. ... Im not sure we can totally predict [patterns] yet. Its still early days of COVID in the grand scheme of things, compared to something like influenza.

Theres been a lot of talk about what have been dubbed FLiRT variants, an acronym based off letter abbreviations for the virus mutations. All FLiRT variants are in the JN.1 family itself a subvariant of omicron.

The significance of [the FLiRT variants] is that they are currently the predominant variant of SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19, that is being transmitted at the current time over 75% of cases in the United States, said Dr. Cassandra Pierre, associate hospital epidemiologist and medical director of public health programs at Boston Medical Center. And there has been some concern that they may lead to an uptick of cases in the summer. But we are certainly concerned and have more confidence in saying that they probably will be contributing to an uptick in the respiratory season in the fall and winter of this year.

The FDA panel recommended the updated COVID vaccines target JN.1, the parent of all the FLiRT variants currently circulating. FDA adviser Dr. Melinda Wharton suggested that targeting the trunk of the tree would offer some protection against subvariants that may emerge.

Doron emphasizes that even though variants circulating in the fall and winter could be somewhat off-target, the updated vaccine will still offer good protection.

Whatever vaccine we give in the fall will help to protect the most vulnerable in the winter. Because ... boosters boost, Doron said. No matter what you give, you get a boost in immunity. And it doesnt have to match the currently circulating variants exactly for that to happen.

Pfizer and Moderna could be rolling out their new COVID vaccines by August. Novavaxs version might take a bit longer, since its based on older technology.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also expected to update its vaccine recommendations, which vary depending on age and health conditions. With the last COVID-19 booster, the CDC recommended people aged 65 years and older and people who are immunocompromised get additional doses for adequate protection.

Once youre eligible to receive a 2024 COVID booster, Doron and Pierre suggest timing it around when you want the best protection, which lasts 3-4 months after receiving a dose.

I personally do wait until early October so that Im covered for December and January, Pierre said. But I think certainly if youre going to be in your doctors office anyway in September, you might as well go ahead and get it and it will last you through the winter holidays.

Doron and Pierre say if youre coming due for another COVID-19 shot soon or if you missed your last dose, you might as well wait until the new formulation is ready. But individual needs vary, so check with your doctor for guidance.

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What to know about upcoming COVID-19 vaccines and the FLiRT variants - GBH News

Washington state is once again in the midst of a slight Covid-19 surge.

It's an indication that Covid is not yet acting like a seasonal respiratory virus, like flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which show up each year in the fall and winter.

The current uptick in Washington is nowhere near as big as the surges we've seen in past years. But it's still a relatively large increase over recent low levels.

The states virus dashboard shows emergency department (ED) visits up by about a third at the very end of May and the start of June. Hospitalizations are also rising.

Case numbers and prevalence of Covid-19 in the community are harder to track now than they were during the pandemic. The mass public testing sites are a thing of the past and many rapid tests taken at home go unreported.

However wastewater and hospitalization/ED visit rates are a reasonable proxy, said Pavitra Roychoudhury with the University of Washington Medicines virology lab.

Dr. Scott Lindquist, the Washington state epidemiologist, said Covid-19 levels are increasing in all those areas.

Lindquist said hes also seeing an increase when seeing patients, and anecdotally among family and friends.

What this means to me, and what I think the public needs to know, is that it is still here and we need to be careful, Lindquist said.

Lindquist said people need to implement lessons learned during the pandemic like staying home when sick and taking other precautions.

"I think it's time to use a mask if you're out in the public, Lindquist said. I am flying this weekend and I will wear a mask in the airport. I haven't been wearing it around the clock, but now that I'm seeing a little increase in Covid, I think it's reasonable to wear a mask in crowded settings."

Lindquist said it's important to protect those who are most vulnerable. Hes urging caution as people prepare to gather for upcoming celebrations like Fathers Day and graduations.

"If you have any of these respiratory symptoms and you're going to visit someone in your family that has an underlying condition, it's not a good time to do that," he said. "Or, if you do, washing your hands and wearing a mask."

Lindquist said staying up to date with vaccines remains an important step for individuals to protect themselves and others.

He said its likely that a new Covid-19 booster will be available and recommended in the fall.

For those who may be wondering if theyre due for another shot before then, especially those who may be at higher risk for complications from the virus like those who are 65 or older, Lindquist said its a good idea to check in with a health-care provider.

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Summer Covid surge hits Washington state - KUOW News and Information

(CNN) The US Food and Drug AdministrationannouncedFriday that it had advised the makers of the Covid-19 vaccines to formulate their new shots to be a better match for the JN.1 lineage of the coronavirus. The JN.1 version of the virus, along with its descendants KP.2 and KP.3 are the most common strain of the virus that are getting people sick right now,according to theUS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The FDAscommittee of independent advisersvoted unanimously Wednesday to recommend that the agency tell vaccine manufacturers to update the Covid-19 shots for the fall.

The FDA told the advisory committee Wednesday that studies have shown that the currently availableCovid-19 vaccines appear to be less effective against the variants that are now in circulation. When manufacturers updated their vaccines last year to better match the variants that were in circulation then, the reformulated vaccines seemed to offer better protection, the FDA said.

Covid-19 cases are relatively low right now. Only 3% to 4% of people who are getting tested are positive for the virus,the CDC told the FDAs vaccine advisers this week. By comparison during the height of the pandemic, rates were at 30%. Hospitalization rates are also currently the lowest they have been since March 2020, the CDC told the committee.

Many people in the US have some protection against the virus through vaccination or prior infection, but that protection wanes over time.

In just the fall and winter months last season,Covid sent more than half a million people in the US to the hospital and killed 40,000 people, according to data presented at the meeting.

The people most likely to get seriously ill or die were unvaccinated, studies show, and amongthe children who were hospitalized, half had no underlying conditions.

Covid vaccine makers Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax said their new products should be ready by the fall.

The challenge may now be on how to convince people to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Only about 25% of adults have been vaccinated with the most recent version of the vaccine.

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The FDA tells Covid-19 vaccine makers to update shot to target the variant currently in circulation - WSIL TV

WASHINGTON Dr. Anthony Fauci defended his decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday, testifying before Congress about his work on the virus as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during two presidencies.

House Republicans who called the hearing grilled Fauci during the contentious three-hour session about the origins of COVID-19, which killed more than 1 million Americans, as well as Faucis role in the response. It was the first time Fauci, 83, who also served as chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, had appeared before Congress since leaving government employment in 2022.

Fauci repeatedly said he didnt conduct official business using personal email in response to allegations he did so to avoid oversight. He also said he has kept an open mind about the origins of the virus, and explained to members of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic why guidance shifted so much during the first several months of the pandemic.

When youre dealing with a new outbreak, things change, Fauci said. The scientific process collects the information that will allow you, at that time, to make a determination or recommendation or a guideline.

As things evolve and change and you get more information, it is important that you use the scientific process to gain that information and perhaps change the way you think of things, change your guidelines and change your recommendation, Fauci added.

Republicans on the panel repeatedly asked Fauci about how the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China received grant funding from the U.S. government, as well as whether it, or another lab, could have created COVID-19. That theory is counter to another that the virus emerged from a spillover event at an outdoor food market.

Fauci testified that it was impossible the viruses being studied at the Wuhan Institute under an NIH subgrant could have led to COVID-19, but didnt rule out it coming from elsewhere.

I cannot account, nor can anyone account, for other things that might be going on in China, which is the reason why I have always said and will say now, I keep an open mind as to what the origin is, Fauci said. But the one thing I know for sure, is that the viruses that were funded by the NIH, phylogenetically could not be the precursor of SARS-CoV-2.

Fauci added that the $120,000 grant that was sent to another organization before being sent to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, was a small piece of the budget.

If they were going to do something on the side, they have plenty of other money to do it. They wouldnt necessarily have to use a $120,000 NIH grant to do it, Fauci said.

The NIH subaward to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, he testified, funded research on the surveillance of and the possibility of emerging infections.

I would not characterize it as dangerous gain-of-function research, Fauci said. Ive already testified to that effect, a couple of times.

Politicians have used multiple, often shifting, definitions for gain-of-function research during the last few years. The American Society for Microbiology writes in a two-page explainer that it is used in research to alter the function of an organism in such a way that it is able to do more than it used to do.

Actions taken during the first several months of the pandemic were essential to saving lives, Fauci testified. Those steps included encouraging people to socially distance, to wear masks and to obtain the vaccine once it was approved.

Fauci said that had public health officials just let the virus work its way through the country without any precautions or safety measures, there very likely would have been another million people (who) would have died.

Information about the COVID-19 vaccine, he said, was communicated as it came in, including particulars about whether it would stop the spread of the virus entirely or whether it predominantly worked by limiting severe illness and hospitalizations.

The issue is particularly complicated, Fauci said, because at the very beginning of the vaccine rollout, data showed the shot did prevent infection and subsequently, obviously, transmission.

However, its important to point out, something that we did not know early on that became evident as the months went by, is that the durability of protection against infection, and hence transmission was relatively limited whereas the duration of protection against severe disease, hospitalization and deaths was more prolonged, Fauci testified.

We did not know that in the beginning, he added. In the beginning it was felt that, in fact, it did prevent infection and thus transmission. But that was proven, as time went by, to not be a durable effect.

Republican members on the subcommittee, as well as those sitting in from other committees, repeatedly asked Fauci about allegations that he avoided using his government email address to circumvent requests for those communications under the Freedom of Information Act, FOIA.

Fauci vehemently denied the accusations, saying he never conducted official business using his personal email.

Michigan Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell asked Fauci during the hearing about threats he and his family have faced during the last few years, especially as misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 have spread.

There have been credible death threats, leading to the arrests of two individuals. And credible death threats means someone who clearly was on their way to kill me, Fauci testified.

Fauci and his wife and three daughters have received harassing emails, text messages and letters. Fauci said people targeting his family for his public health work makes him feel terrible.

Its required my having protective services, essentially all the time, Fauci testified.

One of the most critical Republicans on the panel, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, alleged that Fauci should be in jail, though she didnt present any evidence of actual crimes, nor has any police department or law enforcement agency charged him with a crime.

Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking member on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, of which the subcommittee is a part, said repeated GOP-led investigations into Faucis conduct show he is an honorable public servant, who has devoted his entire career to the public health in the public interest. And he is not a comic book super villain.

Raskin later apologized to Fauci for several GOP lawmakers treating him like a convicted felon, before seemingly referencing that former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is a convicted felon.

Actually, you probably wish they were treating you like a convicted felon. They treat convicted felons with love and admiration, Raskin said. Some of them blindly worship convicted felons.

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Fauci defends his work on COVID-19, says he has an 'open mind' on its origins Nevada Current - Nevada Current

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Key takeaways: Fauci defends against GOP claims on COVID origins, response - ABC News