Beijing prevent WIV sharing virus isolates with Uni Texas

On January 24, 2020 it is reported in a Five Eyes intelligence report that officials in Beijing, China prevented the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) from sharing virus sample isolates with the University of Texas. [There is a standing agreement between the labs]

“The Galveston National Laboratory is a national biocontainment laboratory built at the University of Texas Medical Branch [UTMB] by the National Institutes of Health and the State of Texas to help combat global health threats” [1, 2]

The UTMB released a statement in April 2020 saying the Galveston National Laboratory “has hosted Chinese scientists for training to work in the high-containment lab” and that its lab “is part of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [NIAID] Biodefense Laboratory Network.”

“According to the U.S. Education Department, the UT system reported 10 contracts with Huawei and 24 contracts with Chinese state-owned universities between 2014 and 2019, totaling nearly $13 million”