Ex-CDC Director Warns Gain-of-Function Research on Bird Flu Could Spark ‘Great Pandemic’

‘Bird flu, I think, is going to be the cause of a great pandemic—where they are teaching these viruses how to be more infectious for humans,’ Dr. Redfield said.

Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), testifies before Congress on Capitol Hill, in Washington, on March 8, 2023. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has issued a grim warning about the dangers of gain-of-function research, predicting that scientists tinkering with making the bird flu virus more infectious is what will trigger the next “great pandemic.”

Dr. Redfield, who in the past railed against the use of U.S. tax dollars to fund gain-of-function research at the Chinese virus lab at the heart of the COVID-19 origin controversy, is once again sounding the alarm on the dangers of risky scientific experiments going badly awry.