Genetically engineered mosquitoes continue to be released in the US, gaining another green light from the EPA. Yet, it’s possible that, due to genetic spread, the genetically modified mosquito experiment could be one that “never ends.“
Genetically engineered (“GE”) mosquitoes created by biotechnology company Oxitec have been released in the U.S. in Florida and Texas. In March 2022, the US Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) granted Oxitec a two-year extension of its Emergency Use Permit (“EUP”), which would allow the biotech company to release additional GE mosquitoes in Florida as well as in four counties in California for the first time.
While the EPA extended Oxitec’s EUP, both the Florida Department of Agriculture and California Department of Pesticide Regulation (“DPR”) must approve Oxitec’s testing for it to move forward in their states.
Following pushback from legislators, California’s DPR announced Oxitec voluntarily withdrew its research authorisation application to test its GE mosquitoes in California.
Locally acquired malaria has been non-existent in the US for the last 20 years, but five such cases have recently been diagnosed – four in Florida and one in Texas.
Flying Syringes
As we read Dr. Joseph Merocla’s article as republished below, we can’t but help recall that in August 2022, the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) introduced vaccination via genetically modified (“GM”) mosquitoes. GM is an alternative term for GE.
In what researchers described as “1,000 small flying syringes,” the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) successfully inoculated a human volunteer with a malaria vaccine through the bites of infected, genetically modified mosquitoes.
About 200 hungry mosquitoes bit the arms of the people taking part in the trial. The participants placed their arms directly over a small box full of hungry bloodsuckers. “We use the mosquitoes like they’re 1,000 small flying syringes,” said researcher Dr. Sean Murphy, as reported by NPR.
Three to five “vaccinations” took place over 30-day intervals. The mosquitos gave minor versions of malaria that didn’t make people sick but gave them antibodies. Efficacy from the antibodies lasted a few months.
According to Free Thought Project, “Researchers say the genetically modified mosquitos will not be used at large to vaccinate millions of people. The reason why mosquitos were used instead of syringes, they claim, was to save costs.”
Further reading:
British-based Company Set to Release Billions of GM Mosquitoes in Two US States, The Exposé, 24 March 2022
Flashback: Chemtrails, vaccines and the many diseases they cause, The Exposé, 5 July 2023
Updates on the GMO Mosquito Release
By Dr. Joseph Mercola
Genetically engineered (“GE”) mosquitoes created by biotechnology company Oxitec have been released in the US, even though the long-term effects could be disastrous. Oxitec is using Aedes aegypti (A. aegypti) mosquitoes for this real-world experiment, the species known to carry yellow fever, dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika, West Nile and Mayaro,1 a dengue-like disease.2
Oxitec genetically engineered the males to carry a “genetic kill switch,” such that when they mate with wild female mosquitoes, their offspring inherits the lethal gene and cannot survive or reproduce in the wild.
In the US, Oxitec is marketing the insects as Oxitec Friendly mosquitoes, trying to put a non-threatening name on a reckless project that could quickly backfire. It may even be too late, as the GE mosquitoes have already been released in multiple locations.
EPA Extended Oxitec’s Experimental Use Permit
In April 2020, the US Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) approved an initial Experimental Use Permit (“EUP”), allowing Oxitec to release its GE mosquitoes on 6,240 acres of Monroe County, Florida, and 360 acres of Harris County, Texas.3
By April 2021, Oxitec had released nearly 5 million A. aegypti mosquitoes in the Florida Keys over a seven-month period,4 against the wishes of many residents and environmental groups. In March 2022, the EPA granted Oxitec a two-year extension of its EUP,5 which would allow the biotech company to release additional GE mosquitoes in Florida as well as in four counties in California for the first time.
With the extension, GE mosquitoes may be released on 29,400 acres in Stanislaus, Fresno, Tulare and San Bernardino counties in California, through 30 April 2024, “to generate efficacy data in different climatic zones.” Harris County, Texas, is no longer an approved release site for the GE mosquitoes.6
The EPA’s extension to Oxitec’s EUP paved the way for up to 2.45 billion GE mosquitoes to be released – an extension that was granted even before Oxitec had publicly released results from its 2021 field trial release in Florida.7 The Gates Foundation is heavily invested in the GE mosquito project, investing more than $30 million in Oxitec. Most of it – more than $20 million – is aimed at US regions.8
Oxitec Withdrew Permit for California GE Mosquito Experiment
While the EPA extended Oxitec’s EUP, both the Florida Department of Agriculture and California Department of Pesticide Regulation (“DPR”) must approve Oxitec’s testing in order for it to move forward in their states.9 In November 2022, members of the California legislature sent a letter to DPR, “urging denial” of the permit to release GE mosquitoes.10 The letter states, in part:11
We believe that DPR should deny this research authorisation permit because we have serious concerns about the safety, environmental effects and the ability to manage and contain genetically engineered mosquitoes. Significant scientific research is still needed to understand the potential public health and environmental concerns associated with the release of this novel insect prior to any approval.
… We believe that the US EPA review process was incomplete and that it is premature for the state of California to consider the Oxitec application without [a] more diligent federal review. There are many issues not addressed by US EPA’s review and there is insufficient data for the public to comment on the proposal or know its consequences.
… The release of genetically engineered mosquitoes in California could be an experiment that, due to genetic spread, never ends and creates many unintended consequences. There are other more proven and less risky methods to control mosquitoes.
Read More: Release of Bill Gates’ GM mosquitoes gets pushback in California