After everything the United States — and the world — has been through in the last two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's hard to believe anyone would think tinkering around with viruses is a good use of time and resources.
Apparently, the scientists at the National Institutes of Health do think such experiments are a worthwhile endeavor and, according to a new letter from House Republicans, they've been playing around with the genes of various monkeypox viruses — mixing somewhat deadly viruses with some that are much more lethal. What could go wrong?
In a letter from Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA), Brett Guthrie (KY), and Morgan Griffith, the Republican lawmakers seek answers from NIH and its National Institute for Allergy and Infections Diseases (NIAID) regarding its "monkeypox virus enhancement" which has "reportedly made the diseases 1,000 percent more lethal in mice."
According the letter, the more lethal monkeypox virus "has about a 10 percent mortality rate in unvaccinated people" compared to the monkeypox virus that's been spreading in the U.S. that has a "mortality rate less than one percent."
