Hello Dr. Marrazzo, NIH OLPA has asked for NIAID assistance with preparing background materials for Dr. Tabak for a potential congressional staff briefing. As you are aware, there has been recent congressional interest in certain coronavirus studies conducted at RML. It is possible that Dr. Tabak may provide a briefing on this research to staff to the House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee (Chair: Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-AL) in the coming weeks. NIH OLPA has asked us to review a draft background document for Dr. Tabak. The NIH Office of Research Services (Division of Occupational Health and Safety) has reviewed as well. The legislative team worked with DIR/RML to add information requested by OLPA and make additional NIAID edits for accuracy. The attached document with NIAID edits was reviewed by Hugh, Jill, and Courtney, and will be provided to NIH OLPA for review and potential use by Dr. Tabak. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Sara DRAFT, PRE-DECISIONAL 1 CoV could replicate in Egyptian fruit bats. No RML researchers traveled to Wuhan, nor were any viruses brought back or shipped to RML. 4. NIH obtained Egyptian fruit bats from a zoo in Maryland, transported them across state lines to Montana, and experimented on them with a coronavirus. Facts: The work done at RML in 2016 used Egyptian fruit bats obtained by standard procurement and procedures and delivered to RML via a USDA approved animal provider with the appropriate permits in place. These bats were infected with WIV-1 to determine its ability to replicate in bats; it was found to be poorly able to do so in this experiment. 5. RML in Montana has a history of infected animals escaping, unauthorized people getting into the lab, and bioweapons development. Facts: This work was done in an RML facility first used in 20098. The facility contains high containment laboratories, employs the highest possible safety standards to protect scientists and the surrounding community. RML has a longstanding history of excellent biosafety and biocontainment practices with minimal incidents that have posed negligible to no risk to personnel or the community. There have been zero incidents of unauthorized individuals accessing any high or maximum containment labs. RML does not conduct research on bioweapons development. The referenced report of an infected animal escape was taken out of context from a mandatory regulatory report to the Federal Select Agent Program wherein which a rodent escaped from its home cage but remained contained in the BSL-4 lab and was subsequently recaptured. The animal remained within the BSL-4 primary containment barrier and never escaped the laboratory. 6. NIH is spending $125 million of COVID relief funds to expand its bat laboratories. Facts: The CARES Act provided funding specifically for the construction of NIAID vaccine and infectious disease research facilities, including the BSL-2 animal facility that will allow RML scientists to better respond to new and emerging pandemic threats. The facility is designed to enable research with a number of different types of animal models, not just bats. The animals housed at the BSL-2 facility could be subsequently used in experiments requiring BSL-3 or BSL-4 containment, as appropriate. These BSL-3 and -4 facilities are already existing at RML. UK Daily Mail Article Allegations 1. NIH infected 12 Egyptian fruit bats with a SARS-like virus called WIV-1 at RML in Montana in 2018. Facts: At RML, experimental studies to help understand if WIV-1 CoV could replicate in DRAFT, PRE-DECISIONAL Egyptian fruit bats were conducted in the highest-level biosafety level lab, a BSL-4, in December 2016. The results of this study were published in Viruses in 2018. 2. The WIV-1 coronavirus was shipped from WIV. Facts: The WIV-1 virus is named for the institute in China that first identified it. The WIV-1 virus studied at RML was not shipped to the U.S. from China. The WIV-1 genetic sequence was shared in a public database by WIV scientists. UNC investigators employed commonly used virological techniques to generate the virus from the publicly shared sequence. 3. The research determined the novel virus could not cause a ‘robust infection’. Facts: The results of the study, which were published in the journal Viruses in 2018, demonstrated that WIV-1 did not replicate well in Egyptian fruit bats. 4. The group WCW Project is now using the Freedom of Information Act to request more details about the experiment. Facts: Since 2019, NIH has received 178 FOIA requests from WCW. Of those, 128 are closed. NIH will continue to respond to WCW FOIA requests. 5. Catoctin Wildlife Preserve (CWP) has a history of animal welfare violations and was fined $12,000 in 2012 for poor and dangerous animal housing and inadequate animal care. Facts: NIH relies on USDA approved animal providers and complies with all import and transport permits, where applicable. The bats were procured by ana USDA licensed dealer (Prim Gen) who sourced research naïve Egyptian fruit bats from the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve that were used in the 2016 study.

Reading Roompp. 186–192Reading-Room-FINAL.pdf