His executive order targeted the elimination of what is called gain-of-function, which studies how viruses become more powerful. The United States funded that sort of research at the Wuhan lab, in the city where the initial outbreak was reported. But a competing theory is that a person somehow came into contact with an infected animal.

Donald Trump has issued an executive order to terminate all federal funding for risky virus research in countries deemed hostile or lacking proper regulation, five years post-COVID-19, which US intell