Dr. Redfield: COVID’s Origin Is Clear

April 21, 2025

Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Newsmax on Monday he’s very happy with the White House making it clear and unambiguous about the origins of COVID-19.

Redfield joined “Finnerty” to talk about the White House’s release last week that identified the Wuhan, China, lab leak as the official origin of the pandemic that killed more than 7 million people globally.

“I’m glad that they’ve come out clearly, not ambiguously, said that it came from the lab. I think we’re going to see the rest of the intelligence agencies redo their analysis between now and July, and they’ll all conclude unanimously that it came from the lab. Get this behind us,” Redfield told host Rob Finnerty. “This virus was created by gain-of-function research. And it was funded, unfortunately, by the United States government.”

Redfield was CDC director from 2018 to 2021 during President Donald Trump’s first term. He previously told Newsmax that he was “ostracized,” ridiculed, and called a racist, and received death threats for espousing the minority scientific opinion at the time that COVID came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

The new White House report on the true origins of COVID-19 instead castigates Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, for burying the lab leak theory to promote a “preferred narrative” and protect gain-of-function research.

Redfield maintains there needs to be a global “moratorium” on gain-of-function research.

“I think Trump’s going to do that, I’ve been told soon — it can’t be soon enough — and provide leadership, you know, in the United States and hopefully, the rest of the world, that we shouldn’t be intentionally trying to make pathogens more infectious, more dangerous for humans. It’s not a smart use of our scientific capacity,” Redfield said.

“And so hopefully, we’ll do that and then hopefully, we’ll begin to block any funding that goes to gain-of-function research or any institutions that do it or any countries that are involved.”

Redfield also supports a congressional investigation as to why the true origins of COVID were kept from Americans.

“Yeah, I think it’s important, Rob. I mean, I think the answer was Fauci and [physician-scientist Francis] Collins thought they were protecting science and protecting gain-of-function research, and they didn’t want government regulated science, and that’s why they did it and the scientific community. Doesn’t justify it. It’s wrong. I don’t know why the media played on with it,” he added.

Dr. Robert Redfield, former CDC Director, is speaking out about the origins of COVID-19 and the risks of gain-of-function research. With deep experience in public health leadership and a track record of taking bold, informed positions, he offers a clear and credible voice on the lessons we need to learn from the pandemic. As a keynote speaker, Redfield brings powerful insights on health security, scientific transparency, and how to prepare for future global threats. Dr. Redfield’s speaking engagements are managed exclusively by WWSG. To host him for your events, contact us.