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# Makary Blames NIH for Covid Virus
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/makary-blames-nih-for-covid-virus/
- Published: 2025-07-31T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T15:18:01.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Biologics, #legacy-id-D5159605

During a 7/30 *NewsNation* interview, FDA commissioner **Martin Makary** promoted a popular right-wing conspiracy theory by saying that under its former leadership, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded the lab that created the Covid-19 virus. *The Hill* [reports](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5429695-fda-marty-makary-nih-covid-19/?ref=fdaweb.com) that Makary made the comment in response to a question about the longevity of the Trump administration’s changes to federal health agencies. “We are planning to change our health agencies for a generation or longer,” Makary responded.

He said that when the new NIH director **Jay Bhattacharya** arrived, the agency “was a mess. Fourteen percent of the grants were descriptive studies on health equity, and the NIH had just funded a lab that brewed up a virus that killed 20 million people worldwide.”

*The Hill* notes the Trump administration has favored the Chinese lab leak theory and has replaced the government Covid Web site that had provided resources and information on the virus with a page promoting the conspiracy theory.

“The theory is that the coronavirus accidentally escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, which was funded by the NIH,” *The Hill* says*.* “Most scientists believe the virus occurred naturally in animals and then spilled over to humans.”

The story says HHS did not respond to a request for comment on Makary’s assertion.