![America’s top Covid experts cashed in on the pandemic to the tune of 5 million America’s top Covid experts cashed in on the pandemic to the tune of 5 million](https://beckernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-12-180359-scaled.jpg)
America’s top Covid experts during the pandemic took in hundreds of millions of dollars during the pandemic, even as they recommended measures that included “lockdowns.”
Records have revealed that Dr. Francis Collins, former director of the NIH, and Dr. Tony Fauci, former director of the NIAID, profited substantially from copyright controls during the Covid pandemic.
These documents show that former leaders of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) benefited financially from the Covid pandemic.
Dr. Collins and Dr. The Fauci’s together secured 58 royalty payments between them to allow companies to use their COVID-19 vaccines. These vaccines were developed with US taxpayer funding by private pharmaceutical companies.
Both Fauci and Collins benefited from constant royalties throughout the pandemic. OpenTheBooks, a transparency organization, recently released more than 1,500 pages of these unredacted records.
The documents detail the various companies that compensated Fauci and Collins for the technology. Most of these records were accessed through very effective use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The NIH resisted these FOIA requests, but in the end OpenTheBooks secured most of the records. In total, 56,000 transactions were recorded, totaling more than $325 million. However, specific payment details and related licenses were not mentioned.
Senator Rand Paul confronted Dr. Anthony Fauci in June 2022 about the royalty payments, which had been kept secret from the American public.
“NIH continues to refuse to voluntarily release the names of scientists who receive royalties and from which companies over the time period of 2010-2016 27,000 royalty payments were made to 1,800 NIH employees,” said Paul. “We know. Not because you told us, but because we forced you to tell us through the Freedom of Information Act.
“Over 193 million was given to these … 1800 employees,” Paul added. “Can you tell me that you have never received a gift from any entity that you have ever overseen distributing research grant money to?”
“Well, first of all, let’s talk about royalty,” Fauci countered.
“No, that’s the question,” Senator Paul insisted. “Have you ever monitored, have you ever received a gift payment from a company that you then monitored money going to that company?”
“You know, I don’t know that for a fact, but I doubt it,” Fauci replied. “I would be happy…”
“Well here’s the thing is why don’t you let us know?” replied Paul. “Why don’t you disclose…how much you got and from which entities, the NIH refuses. Look we asked them. We asked the NIH. We asked them if who got it or not and how much they refuse to say- us who sent it redacted”.
“That’s what I want to know. It’s not just you, all the members of the vaccine committee, have any of them ever received money from the vaccine people?” asked Paul. “Can you tell me that? I Can you tell if anyone on the vaccine approval committees has received any money from the public?
“Soundfly, number one. Will you allow me to answer a question?” Fauci objected. “Good. So let me give you some information.”
“First, under the regulations, people who receive royalties are not required to disclose them, even in their financial statements, under the Bayh-Dole Act,” Fauci said. “So let me give you an example from 2015 to 2020, I, the only copyright I have, was my lab and I made a monoclonal antibody to use in vitro reagent that had nothing to do with patients. And during that time period, my royalties ranged from $21 a year to $700 a year. And the annual average was $191.46.”
“It’s all redacted and you can’t get any information about the scientists of the 1800s,” Paul concluded before being interrupted by the chair.
But we now know that between 2010 and 2021, Fauci received 37 payments from three entities. This includes 15 from Santa Cruz Biotechnology, known for medical research products. They rank fifth in terms of royalty payments. Fauci also received 14 from Ancell Corp., and eight from Chiron Corp., later bought by Novartis in 2006. After acquiring Chiron, Novartis got significant funding from the NIH, as Just the News noted.
Fauci’s relationship with Quiró dates back to 2004, when they collaborated on a vaccine against bird flu. At the close of his service, Fauci was the highest-paid federal worker with a 2022 salary of $480,000.
Collins, who later worked under President Joe Biden, received 21 payments from four companies between 2010 and 2018. GeneDx, a genetic research company, was responsible for 12 of those. He had received a substantial sum in federal contracts since 2008. According to Just the News, Collins’ other payments came from several companies, including Quest Diagnostics’ Specialty Laboratories and Ionis Pharmaceuticals.
OpenTheBooks has highlighted the absence of the names and license numbers for each payment, data that the NIH initially withheld but was later forced to release by a court. This information is crucial for analyzing potential conflicts of interest or public health issues.
The records could also shed light on a statement Fauci made to Sen. Rand Paul, where he expressed doubts about receiving royalties from NIAID-funded entities while he was at the helm. An Associated Press investigation had previously found that Fauci had accepted more than $45,000 in royalties years ago for an NIH-backed experimental AIDS treatment.
OpenTheBooks commented that further investigations revealed that the treatment was ineffective. So far, Fauci has not followed through on his promise to donate those royalties to charity.
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OPINION: This article contains comments that reflect the opinion of the author.