President Trump on Monday signed a series of health-focused executive actions, including one cracking down on gain-of-function research, which has been at the center of debates over how the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Trump signed the order, which White House officials said provides additional tools to enforce a ban on federal funding going toward gain-of-function research, and strengthens oversight mechanisms around it.
The field of research alters viruses to, in some cases, make them more potent or contagious for research purposes. Gain of function research in Wuhan, China, has been at the center of theories about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The conduct of this research does not protect us against pandemics as some people might say,” Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, told reporters in the Oval Office. “What it does is, there’s always a danger that in doing this research it might leak out just by accident even and cause a pandemic.”
Trump also signed an executive order intended to improve domestic manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. It streamlines the permitting processes around building pharmaceutical manufacturing sites, among other things.
The president has for weeks threatened to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals made overseas, arguing that key drugs should be manufactured domestically so that consumers are not reliant on foreign supply chains. Critics have warned it could lead to increased costs and shortages.
“We’re going to have a big announcement next week on some of this kind of thing, but more related to costs,” Trump told reporters.
Trump also signed a proclamation declaring May as National Mental Health Awareness Month.
